Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The density of plutonium-238 at room temperature is about 19.8 g/cc. [3] The material will generate about 0.57 watts per gram of 238 Pu. [ 4 ] The bare sphere critical mass of metallic plutonium-238 is not precisely known, but its calculated range is between 9.04 and 10.07 kilograms.
This is an extended version of the energy density table from the main Energy density page: Energy densities table ... Pu-238 α-decay: 2,200,000: Hf-178m2 isomer:
Plutonium-238 has a half-life of 87.7 years, reasonable power density of 0.57 watts per gram, [36] and exceptionally low gamma and neutron radiation levels. 238 Pu has the lowest shielding requirements.
Plutonium-238 is synthesized by bombarding uranium-238 ... plutonium is compressed to high density with explosive lenses—a technically more daunting task than the ...
Plutonium dioxide is a stable ceramic material with an extremely low solubility in water and with a high melting point (2,744 °C). The melting point was revised upwards in 2011 by several hundred degrees, based on evidence from rapid laser melting studies which avoid contamination by any container material.
The higher the density, the lower the critical mass. The density of a material at a constant temperature can be changed by varying the pressure or tension or by changing crystal structure (see allotropes of plutonium). An ideal mass will become subcritical if allowed to expand or conversely the same mass will become supercritical if compressed.
Oct. 13—Plutonium, Californium, Cobalt and Curium are not only elements on the periodic table, they're also products that were made at the Savannah River Site during the Cold War. The newest ...
Pu-239 is produced artificially in nuclear reactors when a neutron is absorbed by U-238, forming U-239, which then decays in a rapid two-step process into Pu-239. [22] It can then be separated from the uranium in a nuclear reprocessing plant. [23] Weapons-grade plutonium is defined as being predominantly Pu-239, typically about 93% Pu-239. [24]