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Plutonium-239 (239 Pu or Pu-239) is an isotope of plutonium. ... Decay chain of plutonium-239 Decays to: uranium-235 (α) This page was last edited on 12 ...
Thus they again take their places in the chain: plutonium-239, used in nuclear weapons, is the major example, decaying to uranium-235 via alpha emission with a half-life 24,500 years. There has also been large-scale production of neptunium-237, which has resurrected the hitherto extinct fourth chain. [ 7 ]
Fission product yields by mass for thermal neutron fission of U-235 and Pu-239 (the two typical of current nuclear power reactors) and U-233 (used in the thorium cycle). This page discusses each of the main elements in the mixture of fission products produced by nuclear fission of the common nuclear fuels uranium and plutonium.
Small traces of plutonium-239, a few parts per trillion, and its decay products are naturally found in some concentrated ores of uranium, [54] such as the natural nuclear fission reactor in Oklo, Gabon. [55] The ratio of plutonium-239 to uranium at the Cigar Lake Mine uranium deposit ranges from 2.4 × 10 −12 to 44 × 10 −12. [56]
Weapons-grade plutonium is defined as being predominantly Pu-239, typically about 93% Pu-239. [24] Pu-240 is produced when Pu-239 absorbs an additional neutron and fails to fission. Pu-240 and Pu-239 are not separated by reprocessing. Pu-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission, which can cause a nuclear weapon to pre-detonate.
plutonium-239: Decay chain of uranium-235 Decays to: thorium-231 This page was last edited on 3 December 2024, at 12:27 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative ...
Watchdogs are raising new concerns about legacy contamination in Los Alamos, the birthplace of the atomic bomb and home to a renewed effort to manufacture key components for nuclear weapons. A ...
As a result of neutron capture, uranium-239 is produced, which undergoes two beta decays to become plutonium-239. Plutonium once occurred as a primordial element in Earth's crust, but only trace amounts remain so it is predominantly synthetic.