Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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
Plutonium, 94 Pu; Plutonium; Pronunciation / p l uː ˈ t oʊ n i ə m / (ploo-TOH-nee-əm) Allotropes: see Allotropes of plutonium: Appearance: silvery white, tarnishing to dark gray in air: Mass number [244] Plutonium in the periodic table
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.