Abstract
THE isotopic composition of uranium has been extensively measured for terrestrial U ores by precise gas mass spectrometry1,2; measurements on other rock-types and minerals are limited3–5. Analyses of lunar material6–8 have shown the 238U/235U ratio to be the same, within experimental error, as the accepted value for terrestrial U (from pitchblende), namely 137.88 ± 0.14 (ref. 8). Measurements of the isotopic composition of U in five meteorites are reported here. The data show that variations in the U isotopic composition exist in these chondrites, and indicate the presence of components of low 238U/235U ratio. For meteorites there does not seem to have been any published attempt at a direct measurement of the 238U/235U ratio. In meteorite chronology it is generally assumed9–11 that the U isotopic composition in meteorites is the same as that on Earth.
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ARDEN, J. Isotopic composition of uranium in chondritic meteorites. Nature 269, 788–789 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/269788a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/269788a0
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