Editing Uranium (section)

===Civilian===
The main use of uranium in the civilian sector is to fuel [[nuclear power plant]]s. One kilogram of uranium-235 can theoretically produce about 20&nbsp;[[terajoules]] of energy (2{{e|13}}&nbsp;[[joule]]s), assuming complete fission; as much [[energy]] as 1.5&nbsp;million kilograms (1,500 [[tonne]]s) of [[coal]].{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=479}}

Commercial nuclear power plants use fuel that is typically enriched to around 3% uranium-235.{{sfn|Emsley|2001|p=479}} The [[CANDU reactor|CANDU]] and [[Magnox]] designs are the only commercial reactors capable of using unenriched uranium fuel. Fuel used for [[United States Navy]] reactors is typically highly enriched in [[uranium-235]] (the exact values are [[classified information|classified]]). In a [[breeder reactor]], uranium-238 can also be converted into plutonium-239 through the following reaction:<ref name="LANL" />

:{{nuclide|link=yes|uranium|238}} + n {{Bigmath|→}} {{nuclide|link=yes|uranium|239}} + γ {{overunderset|{{Bigmath|→}}|β<sup>−</sup>|&nbsp;}} {{nuclide|link=yes|neptunium|239}} {{overunderset|{{Bigmath|→}}|β<sup>−</sup>|&nbsp;}} {{nuclide|link=yes|plutonium|239}}

[[File:U glass with black light.jpg|thumb|right|Uranium glass glowing under [[ultraviolet|UV light]]|alt=A glass place on a glass stand. The plate is glowing green while the stand is colorless.]]
Before (and, occasionally, after) the discovery of radioactivity, uranium was primarily used in small amounts for yellow glass and pottery glazes, such as [[uranium glass]] and in [[Fiesta (dinnerware)|Fiestaware]].<ref>[http://www.hlchina.com/gmastatement.html "Statement regarding the ''Good Morning America'' broadcast," The Homer Laughlin China Co.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120401000958/http://www.hlchina.com/gmastatement.html |date=1 April 2012 }}, 16 March 2011, accessed 25 March 2012.</ref>

The discovery and isolation of [[radium]] in uranium ore (pitchblende) by [[Marie Curie]] sparked the development of uranium mining to extract the radium, which was used to make glow-in-the-dark paints for clock and aircraft dials.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15520902.900-dial-r-for-radioactive.html |title=Dial R for radioactive – 12 July 1997 – New Scientist |publisher=Newscientist.com |access-date=12 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Uranium Mining |url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/uranium-mining |website=Atomic Heritage Foundation |access-date=23 December 2020}}</ref> This left a prodigious quantity of uranium as a waste product, since it takes three tonnes of uranium to extract one gram of radium. This waste product was diverted to the glazing industry, making uranium glazes very inexpensive and abundant. Besides the pottery glazes, [[uranium tile]] glazes accounted for the bulk of the use, including common bathroom and kitchen tiles which can be produced in green, yellow, [[mauve]], black, blue, red and other colors.

[[File:Uranium ceramic - Flickr - Sencer Sarı.jpg|thumb|The uranium glaze on a Sencer Sarı ceramic glowing under [[Ultraviolet|UV light]].]]

[[File:Vacuum capacitor with uranium glass.jpg|thumb|Uranium glass used as lead-in seals in a vacuum [[capacitor]]|alt=A glass cylinder capped on both ends with metal electrodes. Inside the glass bulb there is a metal cylinder connected to the electrodes.]]
Uranium was also used in [[photography|photographic]] chemicals (especially [[uranium nitrate]] as a [[Photographic print toning|toner]]),<ref name="LANL" /> in lamp filaments for [[stage lighting]] bulbs,<ref name="epa">{{cite web |title=EPA Facts about Uranium |url=http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/contaminants/radiation/pdfs/Uranium%20Fact%20Sheet%20final.pdf |access-date=20 September 2014 |publisher=U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129061718/http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/contaminants/radiation/pdfs/Uranium%20Fact%20Sheet%20final.pdf}}</ref> to improve the appearance of [[dentures]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/consumer/ceramics/uranium-containing-dentures.html |title=Uranium Containing Dentures (ca. 1960s, 1970s) |publisher=[[Oak Ridge Associated Universities]] |website=ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity |date=1999 |access-date=11 October 2021}}</ref> and in the leather and wood industries for stains and dyes. Uranium salts are [[mordant]]s of silk or wool. [[Uranyl acetate]] and [[uranyl formate]] are used as electron-dense "stains" in [[transmission electron microscopy]], to increase the contrast of biological specimens in ultrathin sections and in [[negative staining]] of [[virus]]es, isolated [[cell organelle]]s and [[macromolecule]]s.

The discovery of the radioactivity of uranium ushered in additional scientific and practical uses of the element. The long [[half-life]] of uranium-238 (4.47{{e|9}} years) makes it well-suited for use in estimating the age of the earliest [[igneous rock]]s and for other types of [[radiometric dating]], including [[uranium–thorium dating]], [[uranium–lead dating]] and [[uranium–uranium dating]]. Uranium metal is used for [[X-ray]] targets in the making of high-energy X-rays.<ref name="LANL" />