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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 .
May 1953 (initial publication) Publication place. United States. The story explores the use of clairvoyance and telekinetic abilities in preventing nuclear disasters during a Cold War scenario. "Project Nightmare" was originally published in the April–May 1953 issue of Amazing Stories. " Project Nightmare " is a science fiction short story by ...
The Gods Themselves. The Gods Themselves is a 1972 science fiction novel written by Isaac Asimov, and his first original work in the science fiction genre in fifteen years (not counting his 1966 novelization of Fantastic Voyage). It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1972, [2] and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1973. [3][4]
238 Pu has become the most widely used fuel for RTGs, in the form of plutonium(IV) oxide (PuO 2). [34] However, plutonium(IV) oxide containing a natural abundance of oxygen emits neutrons at the rate of roughly 2.3 × 10 3 n/sec/g of plutonium-238. This emission rate is relatively high compared to the neutron emission rate of plutonium-238 metal.
Demon core. A re-creation of the experiment involved in the 1945 incident. The sphere of plutonium is surrounded by tungsten carbide blocks acting as neutron reflectors. The demon core was a sphere of plutonium that was involved in two fatal radiation accidents when scientists tested it as a fissile core of an early atomic bomb.
Plutonium is an element in which the 5f electronsare the transition border between delocalized and localized; it is therefore considered one of the most complex elements.[44] The anomalous behavior of plutonium is caused by its electronic structure. The energy difference between the 6d and 5f subshells is very low.
An early appearance of an Orion-style nuclear pulse propelled rocket in science fiction was in the science fiction novel Empire of the Atom written by A. E. van Vogt in 1956. In this novel there is a post-atomic-war interplanetary empire called the Empire of Lynn that uses Orion-type nuclear rockets for interplanetary spaceflight.
Plutonium-238 and plutonium-239 are exceedingly difficult to detect inside the body because they are alpha particle emitters. Unlike the case of radium, which can be detected quite easily, there are no gamma rays to detect from outside the body. As long as a person is alive, the simplest way to detect plutonium would be to analyze a person's ...