Uranium processing - Revision history

Bilka: don't abbreviate the uraniums

2026-01-29T15:19:24Z

don't abbreviate the uraniums

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:19, 29 January 2026
Line 4:		Line 4:

	== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==		== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==
	Unlike most other crafting processes, uranium processing creates U-235 and U-238 based on probability, rather than in guaranteed deterministic amounts. Additionally, the Kovarex process requires a bulk stockpile of 40 units of the rare uranium-235 isotope to initiate in a single centrifuge. Therefore, planning uranium mining and processing for the Kovarex process takes certain considerations not encountered elsewhere in the game.		Unlike most other crafting processes, uranium processing creates uranium-235 and uranium-238 based on probability, rather than in guaranteed deterministic amounts. Additionally, the Kovarex process requires a bulk stockpile of 40 units of the rare uranium-235 isotope to initiate in a single centrifuge. Therefore, planning uranium mining and processing for the Kovarex process takes certain considerations not encountered elsewhere in the game.

	=== Expected value ===		=== Expected value ===
	As U-235 is created in centrifuges running uranium processing with ''p = 0.007'', the expected number of processing cycles to gain a single unit is ''E(1,p) = 1 ÷ p = ~143''. The expected number of cycles to gain 40 units is then ''E(40,p) = 40 × E(1,p)'' = '''~5,714 cycles'''. Note that running this many cycles requires mining 57,140 uranium ore, a non-trivial task.		As uranium-235 is created in centrifuges running uranium processing with ''p = 0.007'', the expected number of processing cycles to gain a single unit is ''E(1,p) = 1 ÷ p = ~143''. The expected number of cycles to gain 40 units is then ''E(40,p) = 40 × E(1,p)'' = '''~5,714 cycles'''. Note that running this many cycles requires mining 57,140 uranium ore, a non-trivial task.

	However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.		However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of uranium-235 is only about 52%.

	As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell]]s, each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can on average supply enough U-235 to produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor. See [[Tutorial:Nuclear_power#Nuclear_reactor\|Tutorial:Nuclear_power]]. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.		As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 uranium-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell]]s, each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can on average supply enough uranium-235 to produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor. See [[Tutorial:Nuclear_power#Nuclear_reactor\|Tutorial:Nuclear_power]]. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce uranium-235.

	=== Confidence levels ===		=== Confidence levels ===
	[[File:Kovarex-prob-chart.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Probability of reaching 40 U-235 from uranium processing by number of cycles (click to enlarge)]]		[[File:Kovarex-prob-chart.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Probability of reaching 40 uranium-235 from uranium processing by number of cycles (click to enlarge)]]

	Some further mathematics enables one to calculate the number of uranium processing cycles one must run to obtain ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 (given ''p = 0.007'') with a given level of confidence (probability of achieving the set goal).		Some further mathematics enables one to calculate the number of uranium processing cycles one must run to obtain ''at least'' 40 units of uranium-235 (given ''p = 0.007'') with a given level of confidence (probability of achieving the set goal).

	As discussed in the previous section, the level of confidence corresponding to 5,714 cycles (for which the ''expected value'' of U-235 gained is 40) happens to be about 52% (or, in other words, with this number of cycles, one can expect to fail to reach 40 U-235 a bit less than once out of every 2 tries).		As discussed in the previous section, the level of confidence corresponding to 5,714 cycles (for which the ''expected value'' of uranium-235 gained is 40) happens to be about 52% (or, in other words, with this number of cycles, one can expect to fail to reach 40 uranium-235 a bit less than once out of every 2 tries).

	Some further example confidence levels that may be of interest to players are given in the table below. Consult the chart to the right for custom values.		Some further example confidence levels that may be of interest to players are given in the table below. Consult the chart to the right for custom values.

HeliGungir: /* Trivia */

2025-11-09T06:15:05Z

Trivia

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:15, 9 November 2025
Line 40:		Line 40:

	== Trivia ==		== Trivia ==
	* Uranium processing is ~~currently~~ the only probability-based crafting recipe in the base game.		* Uranium processing is the only probability-based crafting recipe in the base game, while {{SA}} Space Age adds several more probability-based recipes.

	== History ==		== History ==

HeliGungir: /* Trivia */ Replaced a trivia line with a better-worded line from the kovarex enrichment page

2025-11-09T06:08:54Z

Trivia: Replaced a trivia line with a better-worded line from the kovarex enrichment page

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:08, 9 November 2025
Line 40:		Line 40:

	== Trivia ==		== Trivia ==
	* ~~Excluding Space Age-exclusive recipes, this~~ is the only recipe in the base game ~~to have random products~~.		* Uranium processing is currently the only probability-based crafting recipe in the base game.

	== History ==		== History ==

Thrawcheld: spacing

2025-03-14T23:01:27Z

spacing

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:01, 14 March 2025
Line 2:		Line 2:

	'''Uranium processing''' is the only way to use [[uranium ore]] and the first source of [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] that is available to the [[player]]. The process has a 99.3% chance to produce 1 uranium-238 and a 0.7% chance to produce 1 uranium-235.		'''Uranium processing''' is the only way to use [[uranium ore]] and the first source of [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] that is available to the [[player]]. The process has a 99.3% chance to produce 1 uranium-238 and a 0.7% chance to produce 1 uranium-235.


	== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==		== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==

Bilka: formatting

2025-02-21T12:19:30Z

formatting

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:19, 21 February 2025
Line 12:		Line 12:
	However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.		However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.

	As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell~~\|uranium fuel cells~~]], each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor~~, although this is random~~. See [[Tutorial:Nuclear_power#Nuclear_reactor]]. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.		As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell]]s, each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can on average supply enough U-235 to produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor. See [[Tutorial:Nuclear_power#Nuclear_reactor\|Tutorial:Nuclear_power]]. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.

	=== Confidence levels ===		=== Confidence levels ===

Qwr: /* Initiating the Kovarex enrichment process */

2024-11-29T04:19:44Z

Initiating the Kovarex enrichment process

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:19, 29 November 2024
Line 12:		Line 12:
	However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.		However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.

	As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell\|uranium fuel cells]], each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor, although this is random. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.		As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell\|uranium fuel cells]], each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor, although this is random. See [[Tutorial:Nuclear_power#Nuclear_reactor]]. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.

	=== Confidence levels ===		=== Confidence levels ===

Qwr: Add note about cycle length

2024-11-29T04:17:05Z

Add note about cycle length

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:17, 29 November 2024
Line 2:		Line 2:

	'''Uranium processing''' is the only way to use [[uranium ore]] and the first source of [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] that is available to the [[player]]. The process has a 99.3% chance to produce 1 uranium-238 and a 0.7% chance to produce 1 uranium-235.		'''Uranium processing''' is the only way to use [[uranium ore]] and the first source of [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] that is available to the [[player]]. The process has a 99.3% chance to produce 1 uranium-238 and a 0.7% chance to produce 1 uranium-235.


	== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==		== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==
Line 10:		Line 11:

	However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.		However, given the nature of probability, it is impossible to guarantee that 40 units will be reached in this number of cycles; as a matter of fact, some mathematics yields that the probability that 5,714 cycles will produce ''at least'' 40 units of U-235 is only about 52%.

			As each cycle takes 12 seconds, it takes on average 12 * 143 = 1716 seconds to produce 1 U-235 (assuming no productivity or speed modules). This can be turned into 10 [[uranium fuel cell\|uranium fuel cells]], each of which lasts 200 seconds, so in total 2000 seconds. That means one centrifuge constantly running can produce enough fuel cells to continuously power one reactor, although this is random. The Kovarex enrichment process is a much more efficient way to produce U-235.

	=== Confidence levels ===		=== Confidence levels ===

Tecanec: This is no longer the only probability-based recipe

2024-11-09T13:04:52Z

This is no longer the only probability-based recipe

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:04, 9 November 2024
Line 4:		Line 4:

	== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==		== Initiating the [[Kovarex enrichment process]] ==
	Unlike ~~all~~ other crafting processes ~~in the game~~, uranium processing creates U-235 and U-238 based on probability, rather than in guaranteed deterministic amounts. Additionally, the Kovarex process requires a bulk stockpile of 40 units of the rare uranium-235 isotope to initiate in a single centrifuge. Therefore, planning uranium mining and processing for the Kovarex process takes certain considerations not encountered elsewhere in the game.		Unlike most other crafting processes, uranium processing creates U-235 and U-238 based on probability, rather than in guaranteed deterministic amounts. Additionally, the Kovarex process requires a bulk stockpile of 40 units of the rare uranium-235 isotope to initiate in a single centrifuge. Therefore, planning uranium mining and processing for the Kovarex process takes certain considerations not encountered elsewhere in the game.

	=== Expected value ===		=== Expected value ===
Line 36:		Line 36:
	\|-		\|-
	\|}		\|}

			== Trivia ==
			* Excluding Space Age-exclusive recipes, this is the only recipe in the base game to have random products.

	== History ==		== History ==

Bilka: Precise mathematical analysis moved to User:Fluffyliberta, see User_talk:Fluffyliberta. I suggest to post it on the forums or on reddit and link that in the see also.

2024-08-30T08:33:36Z

Precise mathematical analysis moved to User:Fluffyliberta, see User_talk:Fluffyliberta. I suggest to post it on the forums or on reddit and link that in the see also.

Show changes

Fluffyliberta at 23:21, 30 May 2024

2024-05-30T23:21:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:21, 30 May 2024
Line 233:		Line 233:
	: <code>k = ⌈τc/(pt)⌉</code>		: <code>k = ⌈τc/(pt)⌉</code>

	* Rule of thumb: if you need ~~approximately~~ estimate how ~~much~~ [[centrifuge]]s ~~you need~~ to initiate and ~~support~~ stability of [[reactor]]s in ~~nearest~~ hours, just build ~~addition~~ 1/3 ~~from~~ long-term value. From Example 2 you can use golden ~~ration~~ and build 1.15 [[centrifuge]]s per [[reactor]] to ~~support it~~ stability.		* Rule of thumb: If you need to quickly estimate how many [[centrifuge]]s are required to initiate and maintain the stability of [[reactor]]s in the medium term (over the next few hours), just build an additional 1/3 of the long-term value. From Example 2, you can use the golden ratio and build 1.15 [[centrifuge]]s per [[reactor]] to ensure stability.

	=== Usage examples ===		=== Usage examples ===
	====Example 1====		====Example 1====