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Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen, silicon, and hydrogen.
To reduce the concentration of Pu-240 in the plutonium produced, weapons program plutonium production reactors (e.g. B Reactor) irradiate the uranium for a far shorter time than is normal for a nuclear power reactor. More precisely, weapons-grade plutonium is obtained from uranium irradiated to a low burnup.
Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first atomic bomb, which was tested in the Trinity nuclear test, and in the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki. During the Cold War , the project expanded to include nine nuclear reactors and five large plutonium processing complexes, which produced plutonium for most of the more than ...
Simulated emission spectrum of neutral Plutonium (Pu I) based on data from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Atomic Spectra Database (NIST ASD). Date: 20 January 2025: Source: Image generated through the NIST ASD website: Author: Kramida, A., Ralchenko, Yu., Reader, J., and NIST ASD Team (2024).
Plutonium-238 (238 Pu or Pu-238) is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years.. Plutonium-238 is a very powerful alpha emitter; as alpha particles are easily blocked, this makes the plutonium-238 isotope suitable for usage in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and radioisotope heater units.
The bomb contained “13 pounds of weapon-grade plutonium,” according to the National Park Service. “Radioactive fallout descended to the northeast over an area about 250 miles long and 200 ...
15. Plutonium. Cost: $4,400-$5,600 per gram. The devastating power of nuclear weapons, such as those used on Japan in World War II, probably makes plutonium more well-known than it otherwise might be.
Plutonium (94 Pu) is an artificial element, except for trace quantities resulting from neutron capture by uranium, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all artificial elements, it has no stable isotopes. It was synthesized long before being found in nature, the first isotope synthesized being 238 Pu in 1940.