From: ahahma@utu.fi (Arno Hahma)
Subject: Re: Uranium penetrators (was: Are Portable MIniguns Possible?)
Organization: University of Turku

In article <3a13kn$4bg@xring.cs.umd.edu>,
aaron r clements <arc@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:

#11.3437 g/cc for lead; although my CRC doesn't have uranium listed in
#its hardness tables, I suspect, based on melting points, that depleted
#uranium is also quite a bit harder in addition to the density factor.

Pure U is about as soft as lead. However, certain elements make uranium
very hard when mixed with it. That kind of behaviour gives you a good
advantage: adjustable hardness and brittleness. That is pretty
hard to do accurately with tungsten, as you have to work with powder
metallurgy.

#All of which is more than you probably wanted to know.  :)

You forget a couple of most important things.

First, uranium can be melt cast and alloyed. Compared to most high
density materials, this is a great advantage and makes fabrication a
lot cheaper and easier.

Second, uranium is dynamically self sharpening, when alloyed suitably.
Tungsten is not. That means, on impact, the penetrator rod nose
fractures in a way that makes the nose sharp again.  This kind of
behaviour significantly reduces the energy required for penetration and
gives the uranium penetrator a large advantage over tungsten, even
though tungsten is as dense and strong as uranium.


ArNO
    2