a compound used in the process of uranium enrichment that produces fissile material for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Formula: UF6
uranium hexafluoride in American English
noun
Chemistry
a colorless, water-insoluble, crystalline, volatile solid, UF6, used in its gaseous state in separating uranium 235 from uranium
Word origin
[1940–45]This word is first recorded in the period 1940–45. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: blockbuster, redline, set-aside, snorkel, zap
Examples of 'uranium hexafluoride' in a sentence
uranium hexafluoride
For other uses, the uranium oxide is converted into uranium hexafluoride gas so that it can be enriched.
Times, Sunday Times (2018)
It set a pattern: enrichment was called research but plans went ahead to feed uranium hexafluoride into centrifuges.