Every time a country (most recently: Iran) pushes for nuclear energy or weapons, talk of the presence of centrifuges begins to percolate around the media. It is almost as if step 1 is to obtain to a centrifuge, step 2 is to build a nuclear bomb. This could not be further from the truth. Centrifuging is just one step in a very long and complicated process. In addition, there are numerous non-nuclear uses for centrifuges that can add to the ambiguity of their presence. Nonetheless, they do provide an integral step in the production of usable nuclear material and here we can delve into how that works.

First, it should be noted that we are not talking about the same centrifuges that we used to use in chemistry class, placing a test tube on each end and trying to determine whether or not a solution produced a precipitate. These are industrial level centrifuges that are significantly bigger and more powerful. They are to science class centrifuges what the Hubbell Space Telescope is to the telescope kit that you got for your eight birthday.

The centrifuges used to create nuclear material are extremely powerful. They can reach over one hundred thousand revolutions per minutes and are balanced to such extreme specifications that if they are even a few milligrams off keel, the entire machine could destroy itself. Centrifuges of this variety typically operate with magnets because the friction created spinning at these speeds would lead to so much heat and such wear and tear that the centrifuge would burn itself up after just a few uses.

When it comes to nuclear uses, the role of centrifuges is to separate the usable from the unusable material. This all boils down to uranium. Mined uranium is processed into uranium oxide. Uranium oxide consists of two different isotopes, U-235 and U-238. Of these isotopes, only U-235 is usable for weapons and nuclear power plant fuel. Not only is U-238 unusable in and of itself, but its mere presence can disrupt the uranium’s value. Therefore, the isotopes must be separated in order to extract the usable U-235.

To extract the U-235, the uranium must be mixed with acid to put it into a gaseous state. At this point, the gas is added to special type of centrifuge and spun out. The denser, heavier U-238 falls out of the solution and can be pushed along to the next step of the process. This is still a long way from having the uranium necessary to create nuclear power or weapons, but it does take care of one of the most difficult aspects of the uranium enrichment process.

As previously mentioned, it should also be noted there are numerous industrial uses for high tech centrifuges beyond separating nuclear material. They are also used extensively for processing in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries. These centrifuges are different in scale and operations from those used for nuclear material, but they still operate on the same fundamental science to get the job done.

Example of small centrifuge at Nat Geo
Example of industrial centrifuges at DH Griffin.
Information on nuclear enrichment at Stanford.edu

Current temps available at National Weather Service: weather.gov

Small Centrifuge: http://www.nationalgeographicdigitalmotion.com/clips/4470368_033
Industrial Centrifuges: http://www.dhgriffin.com/centrifuges.asp
Nuclear Enrichment Info: http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2011/ph241/jaffer1/

Author Bio: Example of small centrifuge at Nat Geo
Example of industrial centrifuges at DH Griffin.
Information on nuclear enrichment at Stanford.edu

Current temps available at National Weather Service: weather.gov

Category: Education
Keywords: Nuclear power, nuclear weapons, uranium, centrifuges