To use Depleted Uranium or Not?

[jaman]

As the tittle says, what do you guys think about using depleted uranium in weapons?

Note that its use can be harmful (that is the debatable point) both to locals and to the military using it.

 

[lasermp5]

I'm not familiar with the pros of using it. I assume it's very strong or something...

 

[xtrememps]

It's extremely dense, therefore heavy. Way heavier than lead, I just don't remember how many X's denser it is.

EDIT: Being heavy is good in a bullet...just in case you weren't thinking along those lines. It's good for piercing through armor, etc.

 

[pr5owner]

the heavier it is the more kinetic energy is behind it (assuming same speeds as a regular bullet) since its super dense, i THINK it will deform less makeing it more effective at armor pircing

 

[wicked]

I defanatly think it should be used,as long as it's not jacketed.bullet's tend to fragment when they hit things(inside the body)depleated uranium doesn't,making it much easier to remove,and much more likely to exit the body.

in a sense it's a much more humane way to get shot.
I know that sounds contracicting,but if you got shot you would appriciate the difference.

If these were used in the past one of my closest friends would be alive still.(he was mudered by his girlfreinds EX,the bullet hit a rib and 2 pieces of it went into his heart.)

 

[MSPinVA]

Correct. Tank buster rounds are made with depleted uranium tips, and they will go through the thickest tank armor LIKE BUTTAH.

 

[protegeV]

so this "deplete"uranium is somewhere between uranium an lead?

 

[Ehawley]

I don't think they use depleted uranium on personel munitions, I believe it is for larger armor piercing weapons (mini gun on the A-10 Warthog, and anti-tank aircraft).

 

[JunkPunch]

It's also radioactive. Not as much as "regular" uranium, but still radioactive. According to the UN they are illegal and classified as WMD. So our use of them against Iraq is quite ironic, at best.

 

[memo79]

Yeah, dude, if an APDS round from an M1 Abrams went through you, you wouldn't have time to care what it was made of. Even the ones we use in the 25mm guns, those things will tear you in half. I have yet to hear of DU being used in small caliber weapons.
Either way, I support it's use. It's not supposed to be harmful until you get exposed to the dust it leaves after impact. Handling DU ammo is probably no more dangerous than handling uncooked chicken. Just wash your hands, All Three of them!!!! ha ha ha!!

Pink rice crispies, anyone??

 

[pr5owner]

It's also radioactive. Not as much as "regular" uranium, but still radioactive. According to the UN they are illegal and classified as WMD. So our use of them against Iraq is quite ironic, at best.

yes U238 shells are fired by bradley fighting vehicles, ubar deadly, they can probably go thru like 50 people before it stops

 

[Roywhitep5]

i support its use in amunition but not in armor. isnt the abrhams partially made of it?

chabum or something

 

[Sir Nuke]

I support it....the things the guys have stated about it so far is correct...the reason its used is because its a denser material....it packs more PUNCH when it impacts because of its weight......its only used in larger cal. ammunition....not in personal small caliber stuff. The smallest I know if is 20 caliber used in the M-61A1 Gattling guns or cannons of our aircraft and the PHALANX CLOSE-IN WEAPON SYSTEM (missle defence systems). The Phalanx system spitts them out so fast (4500 rounds per minute) that its radar system can actually lock onto them and use them like a pointer to its intended target. I have personally watched this system work first hand.....its bad to the bone.

 

[SpicyMchaggis]

I need dual 50's mounted on my hood.

 

[mooS mooS]

*adds to xmas wish-list ....... Phalanx weapon system* ....

 

[Matthew]

show me where the UN says they are illegal and WMD.

 

[Sir Nuke]

show me where the UN says they are illegal and WMD.

they aren't.....WE have been using them for AT LEAST 25 years....I know that for a fact.....and WE have taken them all over the world with us.

 

[JunkPunch]

show me where the UN says they are illegal and WMD.

Well frankly I shouldn't have said WMD since I hate that phrase. The UN passed a couple resolutions/papers (1996/16,2002/38,1997/36) that groups DU weapons with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. So make of that what you will. I believe part of their findings were that DU weapons violated humanitarian law and the priciples of the UN because of the damage they cause outside of the field of battle and their lingering negative effects.

I'm not trying to tell you they are good or bad, you can make that decision on your own.

 

[Gbourdon]

As far as I know depleted uranium is relatively harmless as far as radioactivity goes. s*** I live in the granite state and granite has radiactivity that can be found in the form of radon. Uranium is found naturally in the environment it is just not (fortified? cant't remember the word I want to use)

If the fear is contamination of the ecosystem then I would assume that depleted uranium has less harmful effects than lead.

 

[JunkPunch]

You should do some research on depleted uranium then. There is a lot of debate on the dangers of it and a lot of testing still going on in areas where a lot of it has been used (Gulf, Bosnia). I'm not really sure what to think, but I guess I'm glad I don't have to be near it (for a lot of reasons).