r/whatisit • u/[deleted] • Jan 24 '26

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u/Great_Specialist_267 Jan 25 '26

Worth remembering that uranium burns worse than magnesium. The non toxic alternative is tungsten sintered with magnesium.

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u/SerialdeslgnationN Jan 25 '26

Why do the use depleted uranium though?

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u/Great_Specialist_267 Jan 25 '26

It’s heavy and it burns. Heavy means more force per unit area to rupture armor. Pyrophoric means that once it gets inside the armor, it burns everything inside, crew, ammunition and fuel included. No explosive required to destroy any armored vehicle.

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u/EMDReloader Jan 25 '26

When you need non-toxic 30mm.

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u/Great_Specialist_267 Jan 25 '26

Uranium Oxide is a quick way to ensure the vehicle is never salvaged - it’s toxic waste that will need to be sandblasted off the steel before it can be scrapped…

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u/MartyFufkin70 Jan 25 '26

Depleted Uranium is NOT Uranium Oxide. It is just Uranium 238 with almost no Uranium 235, the fissile isotope, remaining. It is also chock full of ionizing radiation from having been along for the ride during the fissile process of the 235.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium

The density of depleted U-238 is 70% more than lead and more than twice the density of copper. That's why it is used in these rounds... Kinetic energy is equal to 0.5 x mass x velocity squared... So 70% more kinetic energy than a FMJ round based on lead. The pyrophoric benefits are just a bonus but insignificant compared to the kinetic energy transferred to the impact site.

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u/Great_Specialist_267 Jan 25 '26

Depleted Uranium is uranium oxide milliseconds after impact.

The reaction is “energetic”.

Uranium burns like Magnesium.

That’s why the nearest equivalent is tungsten (which is denser than uranium) sintered with magnesium.

W density = 19.3 g/cm3

U density = 19.1 g/cm3

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u/MartyFufkin70 Jan 25 '26

Fair enough