ABSTRACT
Unlike plutonium and 2 3 9 Np*, discovered only in 1940, uranium has been known since 1789. This element was discovered by German chemist M . H . Klaproth, first in the form of uranium dioxide (U0 2 ) , which for approximately 50 years was taken for a metal. Metallic uranium was obtained for the first time by French researcher E . - M . Péligot in 1841 by reducing uranium tetrachloride with potassium metal [86]. E . - M . Péligot is rightfully credited as the founder of modern uranium chemistry.
