Those bastards took down the video I posted a year ago, where you can actually see the process. Maybe it's archived somewhere.
Damn, that's actually the kind of thing I was looking for to understand the process more.
traded online uranium and processed it into uranium ore, also known as yellowcake
Wot?
Unless I'm mistaken, you take uranium ore and process it into enriched uranium, also known as yellowcake.
Also I wish they would at least mention the quantities he was dealing with. 99% enriched uranium is really hard to do, and requires very expensive and precise machinery. Even getting a gram to that level of purity (which is way above the purification level of even modern thermonuclear bombs) is mind boggling for a kid.
It's gizmodo, you can't expect much from them.
Unless I'm mistaken, you take uranium ore and process it into enriched uranium, also known as yellowcake
You are partly mistaken. In the refining process of uranium ore there are many steps, one is yellow cake. And after the whole process you have pure uranium, which is not enriched. Enrichment is another process which can be done later and about only useful for making weapons grade uranium.
But isn't enriching just refining the 235 from the non fissile 238?
Uranium ore is like 1% 235
Yellow cake is like 20-30% 235
Highly enriched uranium is roughly 70-90% 235
I thought it all came down to the ratios of fissile material vs non.
Uranium is mostly out of elements other than uranium, is is refined into yellow cake, which is mostly uranium oxide. Yellow can then be purified and used in some reactor types or be enriched. Enrichment is basically separating the U235 for use in other reactors or bombs. Those reactors can also output plutonium for more effective bombs.
U238 is effective in ammo due to its mass but it irradiates soldiers and contaminates the battlefield.
Here's a 6 minute video on the process
https://youtu.be/apODDbgFFPI