Isotope Separator

The Isotope Separator is a block added by NuclearCraft. Its function is to convert an ingot or dust of a radioactive substance such as Uranium or Thorium, into separate lumps of different isotopes.

What is an Isotope and why should I separate it?

 * Elements are pure substances like Gold, Lead and Oxygen.
 * Elements are made up of Atoms.
 * Atoms consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
 * The nucleus consists of Protons and Neutrons.
 * What differs each element from another is the number of Protons. For example, Gold has 79 protons and Lead has 82 protons.
 * Isotopes are versions of the same element, thus the same number of Protons, but with a different number of Neutrons.
 * Elements refined from ores dug out of the ground are a mixture of different isotopes. e.g. The main isotopes of Uranium are 233, 234, 235, 236 and 238.
 * Different Isotopes have slightly different properties and those differences are very important when it comes to nuclear reactors.
 * Do I need to know this? Not really, but it's nice to understand what the numbers mean.

Back to Minecraft
NuclearCraft introduces a number of radioactive elements and specifies a few different isotopes for each one. Placing an ingot or dust of one of these substances into the Isotope Separator produces an amount of two different isotopes.

e.g.
 * Uranium ingots are converted to Uranium-238 and a small amount of Uranium-235.
 * Thorium ingots are converted to Thorium-232 and a small amount of Thorium-230.

The isotope products are then used in the crafting of Fuel and ultimately, Fuel rods.