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239 Pu has a higher probability for fission than 235 U and a larger number of neutrons produced per fission event, so it has a smaller critical mass. Pure 239 Pu also has a reasonably low rate of neutron emission due to spontaneous fission (10 fission/s·kg), making it feasible to assemble a mass that is highly supercritical before a detonation ...
Pu-239 is produced artificially in nuclear reactors when a neutron is absorbed by U-238, forming U-239, which then decays in a rapid two-step process into Pu-239. [22] It can then be separated from the uranium in a nuclear reprocessing plant. [23] Weapons-grade plutonium is defined as being predominantly Pu-239, typically about 93% Pu-239. [24]
In contrast to the low burnup of weeks or months that is commonly required to produce weapons-grade plutonium (WGPu/ 239 Pu), the long time in the reactor that produces reactor-grade plutonium leads to transmutation of much of the fissile, relatively long half-life isotope 239 Pu into a number of other isotopes of plutonium that are less ...
239 Pu is virtually nonexistent in nature. It is made by bombarding uranium-238 with neutrons. Uranium-238 is present in quantity in most reactor fuel; hence 239 Pu is continuously made in these reactors. Since 239 Pu can itself be split by neutrons to release energy, 239 Pu provides a portion of the energy generation in a nuclear reactor.
Neutrons from the fission of uranium-235 are captured by uranium-238 nuclei to form uranium-239; a beta decay converts a neutron into a proton to form neptunium-239 (half-life 2.36 days) and another beta decay forms plutonium-239. [28] Egon Bretscher working on the British Tube Alloys project predicted this reaction theoretically in 1940. [29]
The Pu-239 pit of Fat Man was only 9.1 centimetres (3.6 in) in diameter, the size of a softball. The bulk of Fat Man's girth was the implosion mechanism, namely concentric layers of U-238, aluminium, and high explosives. The key to reducing that girth was the two-point implosion design. [citation needed]
Social Security is the U.S. government's biggest program; as of June 30, 2024, about 67.9 million people, or one in five Americans, collected Social Security benefits. This year, we're seeing a...
Neptunium-239 has 146 neutrons and a half-life of 2.356 days. It is produced via β − decay of the short-lived uranium-239 , and undergoes another β − decay to plutonium-239 . This is the primary route for making plutonium, as 239 U can be made by neutron capture in uranium-238 .