Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Laser-heating and Radiance Spectrometry for the Study of Nuclear Materials in Conditions Simulating a Nuclear Power Plant Accident
Published on: December 14, 2017
Uranium from German Nuclear Power Projects of the 1940s--A Nuclear Forensic Investigation
Klaus Mayer1, Maria Wallenius2, Klaus Lützenkirchen1
1European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), Postfach 2340, 76125 Karlsruhe (Germany).
Abstract:
Here we present a nuclear forensic study of uranium from German nuclear projects which used different geometries of metallic uranium fuel. Through measurement of the (230)Th/(234)U ratio, we could determine that the material had been produced in the period from 1940 to 1943. To determine the geographical origin of the uranium, the rare-earth-element content and the (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio were measured. The results provide evidence that the uranium was mined in the Czech Republic. Trace amounts of (236)U and (239)Pu were detected at the level of their natural abundance, which indicates that the uranium fuel was not exposed to any major neutron fluence.
Related Concept Videos
Nuclear Transmutation
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Fuels
Nuclear fuel consists of a fissile isotope, such as uranium-235, which must be present in sufficient quantity to provide a...
Microbial Bioremediation of Uranium
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together...
Nuclear Fusion
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...

