Instant Expert: How Can We Tell If a Country Is Making Nuclear Power or Nuclear Weapons?
It's all about enrichment Just about everyone insists that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at building weapons. Iran claims it only wants nuclear power. So how do weapons inspectors get at the truth? They study the country’s supply and treatment of uranium, one of the most abundant nuclear materials on the planet. Just one pound can produce energy equal to burning three million pounds of coal. To harness all that energy, the uranium must first be “enriched,” increasing the concentration of an unstable form of the element, U-235, which, when split, can release massive amounts of energy in what’s known as a fissile reaction. The configuration of the equipment most commonly used for this enrichment, called gas centrifuges, can tip inspectors to illicit intentions. That’s because making uranium reactor-grade requires that 3 to 5 percent of its total concentration must be U-235 (nearly all the rest...