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LITHOEN

Isotope

Uranium-238

The most abundant uranium isotope, a long-lived heat source and the parent of a decay chain ending in lead-206.

Classification

element symbol
U
mass number
238
stability
radioactive

How this record is known

1
Settled consensus
Cited as the accepted position of the discipline.

1 of 1 claims on this page cite at least one registered source. Counts describe how each statement is known, not how likely it is to be true.

What Lithoen records

Each claim states how it is known and cites its evidence.

EstablishedRadioactive, long-lived; decays through a chain terminating in lead-206.

Uranium-238 is a long-lived radioactive nuclide: it heats the Earth as it decays and its decay chain, ending in lead-206, is the basis of uranium–lead dating.

  • precision note: The role of uranium and thorium decay as a heat source is recorded separately in the Phase 1 heat canon.

Evidence support: Supported by the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (IUPAC) 2024 Primary authority

In the knowledge graph

  • Uranium-238 is an isotope of Uranium

Record last updated 2026-09-06. Corrections follow the published corrections policy; superseded claims are retained, never silently edited.