Evening star., 1945-08-11
Atomic Power Limited
By Uranium Supply,
Mineral Expert Says
BY HOWARD w. BLAKEsLEE

STATE COLLEGE, Pa, Aug. IL
Edward Steidle, dean of the school
of mineral industries, Pennsyl-
vania State College. said yesterday
that the worlds entire known ura-
mum supply probably is too small to
furnish atomic power for more than
year or two.
This amount of atomic power
would be only as much as coal, oil
and water power now supply. He
predicted there is no prospects of
the present fuels going out of busi-
ness on account of current atomic
force developments. But, he said,
| limited atomic power is likely in 10
to 20 years.
BY all accounts" he said, 1T ap-
pears the atomic bomb derives its
power from nuclear fiSsion (Split-
ting) of the relatively rare uranium
isotope. of atomic weight 235. This
form Of uranium is found mixed in
with the more abundant variety of
uranium known by its atomic weight
as 238.
Minerals Are Rare.
The uranium ?containing miner
ais are relatively rare on earth. A
partial enumeration of the more
important includes, uranite, pitch
blende and carnotite
The richest known deposits of
uranium ore are at Great Bear Lake
Canada, and Katanga Territory,
Belgian Congo, the production of
which, before the war, was con-
trolled oy the tightest cartel. Ac-
cordingly figures on ore reserves
are not available.
No important sources are gen.
orally known within the confines of
the United States Several States
have uranium-containing minerals.
A trace of carnotite is found in Car
bon County, Pa. 1t is known how
ever, that out of a ton of highly
concentrated ore, it is possible to
produce a miXimum of II pounds
of uranium 235 by long and ex-
penSive concentration process
Pound Equals Tons of Coal.
1T has been stated that one
pound of uranium 235 can release
as much energy as 1000 to 1000 tons
of coal"
Assume, said Dean Steidle, that
this atomic energy may be released
efficiently and under control That
is something which all officials re-
ports say has not been done yet.
1T would take" the dean de-
clared, "on the one-pound basis,
about 100000 pounds of uranium
year to supply the OO,0OO, 900 0OO,-
900 of BTUs supplied yearly by coal
in the United States"
BTU iSsthe unit of measurement
Of the heat energy in coal and other
fuel. 1t is short for British thermal
unit.
Limit on Uranium Supply.
-Four hundred thousand pounds
OF the rare uranium (the 1851" the
dean continued. would be required
to supply the energy derived from
petroleum and natural gas. And
100000 pounds more to supplant the
energy supplied by hydroelectric
plants
This makes a total of about
100000 pounds of uranium 235
which would have to be derived from
upward of 100000 tons of the high
est grade concentrated uranium ore
produced annually throughout the
world.
AT best, present deposits could
only supply the worlds energy re-
quirements for but limited time,
certainly not in terms of years.
These tempering statements
should not minimize the Importance
of harnessing atomic power. Linn
tied practical application of atomic
power is likely within the next 10
to 20 years.
Possibly other elements more
abundant and more easily obtained
than uranium will prove better
suited for commercial production of
atomic power"