Uranium (U)
"The Mighty Nucleus, a titan of raw power, capable of splitting itself to unleash unimaginable energy, both for incredible construction and explosive destruction."
A memorable persona to anchor U in your mind.
19.1
Grams per cm³
1135
Celsius (°C)
240
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
The unseen force that keeps the lights on in countless homes, buzzing through power lines from nuclear reactors.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1789
Discovered By
Martin Heinrich Klaproth
Origin of Name
"Uranium was named after the planet Uranus."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
238.029 u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
4131°C
Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f36d17s2
1st Ionization Energy
6.194 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Looks like a dull, heavy, silvery-white metal that quickly tarnishes, hinting at the immense energy hidden within its atomic core."
Did You Know?
Uranium is the heaviest naturally occurring element on Earth! If it's found in nature, nothing else packs more protons into its nucleus.
It snagged its name from the planet Uranus, discovered just a few years earlier in 1781 by William Herschel! Talk about cosmic connections.
Tiny amounts of uranium exist everywhere! You can find it in rocks, soil, oceans, and even trace amounts in the food we eat.
Before we fully understood radioactivity, uranium salts were used to create beautiful, glowing green and yellow glass, especially famous in 19th-century tableware!