Summary

Diagram illustrating the basic principle behind electromagnetic isotopic separation, esp. in the case of uranium enrichment. Here the heavy isotope of uranium (U-238) is represented in light blue, while the lighter isotope of uranium (U-235) is represented in dark blue. When the beam of natural uranium (a mixture of mostly U-238 and some U-235) passes through a strong magnetic field (the two magnet poles are shown here) it curves around back towards the source. The resulting stream of uranium will have somewhat higher concentrations of U-235 on the outer end of it (the effect has been exaggerated here for conceptual simplicity).

Created by User:Fastfission in Inkscape.

 

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Licensing

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Fastfission. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Fastfission grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

If you want to credit someone, credit "Wikimedia Commons." Otherwise don't credit anyone, that's fine by me. --Fastfission 15:17, 14 April 2008 (UTC)