Spinning metal at 50,000 RPM separates fuel for nuclear power

Natural uranium is mostly a 'dead' weight; only about 0.7 percent of it consists of the volatile atoms needed to sustain a nuclear reaction. To harvest enough of this rare material, technicians turn the metal into a gas and feed it into tall, slender tubes that spin at 50,000 rotations per minute. This creates a centrifugal force so intense that the slightly heavier atoms are flung toward the walls, while the lighter, energy-rich atoms stay near the center.