uranium-235 can be used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons by making a nuclear chain reaction. this turns the uranium-235 into uranium-236 and splits the nucleus into two smaller nuclei. this makes two completely different elements with smaller atomic numbers. this process is called nuclear fission and creates lots of heat. this heat makes it very useful for making steam in nuclear reactors, or for making explosions with nuclear weapons. but most such weapons use plutonium made from uranium-238. uranium is a bit radioactive.