Uranium-235 facts for kids

Uranium-235 is a radioactive isotope of uranium. Uranium-235 has 143 neutrons, 92 protons, and an isotope mass of 235.0439299. Uranium-235 has ²³⁵Pa, ²³⁵Np, and ²³⁹Pu as its parent isotopes. As it decays, it produces ²³¹Th. Uranium-235 has a half-life of 703.8 million years. Uranium-235 makes up about 0.72% of natural uranium. When it is separated from the other uranium isotopes, it is called enriched uranium.

Enriched uranium is best known for its use in the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bomb called Little Boy used Uranium-235. Uranium-235 can be used for nuclear fission. This fission is about 504.81 barns for slow thermal neutrons and 1 barn for fast thermal neutrons. Uranium-235 was discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster.