Atomic fingerprint identifies emission sources of uranium
Monday, March 9, 2020 - 10:12
in Physics & Chemistry
Uranium is not always the same: depending on whether this chemical element is released by the civil nuclear industry or as fallout from nuclear weapon tests, the ratio of the two anthropogenic, i.e. man-made, uranium isotopes 233U and 236U varies. These results were lately found by an international team grouped around physicists from the University of Vienna and provides a promising new "fingerprint" for the identification of radioactive emission sources. As a consequence, it is also an excellent environmental tracer for ocean currents, as it is shown in Nature Communications.