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Plutonium(IV) oxide, or plutonia, is a chemical compound with the formula Pu O 2. This high melting-point solid is a principal compound of plutonium . It can vary in color from yellow to olive green, depending on the particle size, temperature and method of production.
Trace amounts of plutonium-238, plutonium-239, plutonium-240, and plutonium-244 can be found in nature. 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 ]
Plutonium-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission, raising the background neutron radiation of plutonium. Plutonium is graded by proportion of 240 Pu: weapons grade (<7%), fuel grade (7–19%) and reactor grade (>19%). Lower grades are less suited for bombs and thermal reactors but can fuel fast reactors.
Molten metal must be kept in a vacuum or an inert atmosphere to avoid reaction with air. [9] At 135 °C the metal will ignite in air and will explode if placed in carbon tetrachloride. [10] Plutonium pyrophoricity can cause it to look like a glowing ember under certain conditions. Twenty micrograms of pure plutonium hydroxide. Plutonium is a ...
The Plutonium-238 used in RTGs has a half-life of 88 years, as opposed to the plutonium-239 used in nuclear weapons and reactors, which has a half-life of 24,100 years. [ full citation needed ] In April 1964 a SNAP-9A failed to achieve orbit and disintegrated, dispersing roughly 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of plutonium-238 over all continents.
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
Plutonium-239 is the primary fissile isotope used for the production of nuclear weapons, although uranium-235 is also used for that purpose. Plutonium-239 is also one of the three main isotopes demonstrated usable as fuel in thermal spectrum nuclear reactors, along with uranium-235 and uranium-233. Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,110 years. [1]
Plutonium-241 (241 Pu or Pu-241) is an isotope of plutonium formed when plutonium-240 captures a neutron.Like some other plutonium isotopes (especially 239 Pu), 241 Pu is fissile, with a neutron absorption cross section about one-third greater than that of 239 Pu, and a similar probability of fissioning on neutron absorption, around 73%.