Uranium enrichment seems more like a complex filtering process where we separate the precious U-235 from from U-238. Is there a way to actually turn U-238 into U-235?
1 Answer
Is there a way to actually turn U-238 into U-235?
Yes there is, but it's not practical. If it were easy, then we'd be doing it already.
By bombarding U-238 with neutrons you can convert it to U-239, which quickly beta- decays to Np-239, which in turn beta- decays to Pu-239. Plutonium-239 undergoes alpha decay to U-235, but that process has a half-life of 24,110 years. But Pu-239 is itself fissile, so you can use it in a reactor (or bomb), rather than waiting around for it to turn into U-235.
As Wikipedia mentions, producing high grade Pu-239 like that is not free of problems, since it easily absorbs a neutron, converting it to Pu-240, which is not desirable.