Laser enriched U-235 becoming more popular
The Sydney Morning Hearald: General Electric has signed a deal with the Australian-based Silex corporation to commericalise a laser-based technique for enriching uranium fuel. Laser enrichment is believed to be significantly cheaper in terms of energy costs than using diffusion or centifuge techniques. The laser is "tuned" to a frequency that provides U-235 with energy. The additional energy makes the atom electrically charged, making the U-235 easy to collect through the use of electromagnetic fields.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists listed some of the other efforts to commerlise this technology last year.
