What is plutonium isotope?
Plutonium isotopes are produced by neutron capture in a uranium-based nuclear fuel. When this element is not extracted from the nuclear spent fuel and recycled as fissile material, its radioactive toxicity becomes predominant after a few decades although it represents only 1% in mass of the spent fuel.
Is plutonium-238 a isotope?
Pu-238 is a variant (or isotope) of plutonium with an atomic weight of 238 (94 protons plus 144 neutrons); it was the first isotope of plutonium that was discovered. Some isotopes of a given element, known as radioisotopes, are unstable and decay by emission of energy and particles.
Is plutonium 235 an isotope?
atomic weapons …of the fissile isotopes uranium-235, plutonium-239, or some combination of these; however, some explosive devices using high concentrations of uranium-233 also have been constructed and tested. … production of the fissionable material plutonium-239.
What is the difference between plutonium-238 and 239?
What is it used for? Plutonium-238 generates significant heat through its radioactive decay process, which makes it useful as a heat source for sensitive electrical components in satellites, as a well as a power source (for example, battery power) for satellites. Plutonium-239 is used to make nuclear weapons.
How many isotopes are in plutonium?
There are five “common” isotopes of plutonium, Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, and Pu-242. These are all “fissionable” – the atom’s nucleus can easily split apart if it is struck by a neutron. The different isotopes have different “half-lives” – the time it takes to lose half of its radioactivity.
What is the most common isotope of plutonium?
Pu-239
The most common plutonium isotope formed in a typical nuclear reactor is the fissile Pu-239, formed by neutron capture from U-238 (followed by beta decay), and which when fissioned yields much the same energy as the fission of U-235.
How many isotopes does plutonium have?
Where does plutonium 239 come from?
Both plutonium-239 and uranium-235 are obtained from Natural uranium, which primarily consists of uranium-238 but contains traces of other isotopes of uranium such as uranium-235.
Is plutonium 242 a radioactive isotope?
Plutonium-242 (242Pu) is one of the isotopes of plutonium, the second longest-lived, with a half-life of 375,000 years. The half-life of 242Pu is about 15 times longer than that of 239Pu; therefore, it is one-fifteenth as radioactive, and not one of the larger contributors to nuclear waste radioactivity.
What is plutonium 241 used for?
Plutonium-238, which is made in nuclear reactors from neptunium-237, is used to make compact thermoelectric generators; plutonium-239 is used for nuclear weapons and for energy; plutonium-241, although fissile, (see next paragraph) is impractical both as a nuclear fuel and a material for nuclear warheads.
How does uranium-238 become plutonium-239?
By capturing a neutron, uranium-238 becomes uranium-239 that rapidly changes by beta radiation into neptunium-239. This neptunium is transformed then by beta radiation, after 3 days on average, into a new nucleus: plutonium-239.
What is plutonium 240 used for?
Uses. The principal plutonium isotopes, 239Pu and 240Pu, were produced as ingredients for nuclear weapons. It is estimated that the United States produced 400 kCi of plutonium for nuclear weapons testing, and approximately 325 kCi was dispersed globally into the environment from conducted aboveground tests.
What are the properties of plutonium isotopes?
Properties of Plutonium Isotopes. In addition to being fissionable, plutonium-239 and plutonium-241 are “fissile” – that is, they can be split by neutrons of very low (ideally zero) energy. This means that they can be assembled into a critical mass, and hence can sustain a chain reaction without an external source of neutrons.
When was the plutonium isotope synthesized?
It was synthesized long before being found in nature, the first isotope synthesized being 238 Pu in 1940. Twenty plutonium radioisotopes have been characterized.
Which isotopes of plutonium decay by beta emission?
The primary decay mode for isotopes with mass numbers higher than plutonium-244 is beta emission, mostly forming americium (95 protons) isotopes as decay products. Plutonium-241 is the parent isotope of the neptunium decay series, decaying to americium-241 via beta emission. Plutonium-238 and 239 are the most widely synthesized isotopes.
What is plutonium made of?
Plutonium. Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states.
