John Sefton wrote:

"Ignoramus20427" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:27:17 GMT, Bruce W.1

wrote:

I've read that depleted uranium is six times as dense as lead. It would
be nifty to have a chunk of it, that is if it's not radioactive.

only 1.5 times heavier.


The US military uses it for missile nosecones and whatnot, so it can't
be very dangerous.

nosecones are very dangerous


Is this a controlled material? If not then does anyone know where I can
get a small piece?

you can easily buy tungsten, it is jhust as heavy and also very hard
material. To the military, tungsten is more expensive than DU, but for
us mortals, it is more easily obtainable. I have a piece of tungsten
at home, it feels incredibly heavy./


Another reason depleted uranium is used by the military is for its "self
sharpening" property - instead of flattening out like lead and other metals
upon impact, it lengthens and gets thinner - great for armour piercing. It
would be interesting to see how that property would work in a machining
context - either as the metal being machined, or as the cutting tool..


It also catches fire once it's through the armor -- that's very handy
for distracting the crew of the tank that you're firing on.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com