plutonium

[ ploo-toh-nee-uhm ]

noun

, Chemistry, Physics.

1. a transuranic element with a fissile isotope of mass number 239 plutonium 239 that can be produced from non-fissile uranium 238, as in a breeder reactor. : Pu; : 94.

plutonium

/ pluːˈtəʊnɪəm /

noun

1. a highly toxic metallic transuranic element. It occurs in trace amounts in uranium ores and is produced in a nuclear reactor by neutron bombardment of uranium-238. The most stable and important isotope, plutonium-239 , readily undergoes fission and is used as a reactor fuel in nuclear power stations and in nuclear weapons. Symbol: Pu; atomic no: 94; half-life of ²³⁹Pu: 24 360 years; valency: 3, 4, 5, or 6; relative density (alpha modification): 19.84; melting pt: 640°C; boiling pt: 3230°C

plutonium

/ plo̅o̅-tō′nē-əm /

1. A silvery, radioactive metallic element of the actinide series that has the highest atomic number of all naturally occurring elements. It is found in minute amounts in uranium ores and is produced artificially by bombarding uranium with neutrons. It is absorbed by bone marrow and is highly poisonous. Plutonium is used in nuclear weapons and as a fuel in nuclear reactors. Its longest-lived isotope is Pu 244 with a half-life of 80 million years. Atomic number 94; melting point 640°C; boiling point 3,228°C; specific gravity 19.84; valence 3, 4, 5, 6.
2. See Periodic Table

plutonium

1. A radioactive chemical element that is artificially derived from uranium .

Notes

Plutonium is used in nuclear reactors .

Word History and Origins

Origin of plutonium¹

1940–45; < Greek Ploútōn Pluto + -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of plutonium¹

C20: named after the dwarf planet Pluto because Pluto lies beyond Neptune and plutonium was discovered soon after neptunium

Example Sentences

In 1974, India shocked the world by detonating a nuclear device, drawing outrage from Canada, which accused India of extracting plutonium from a Canadian reactor, a gift intended solely for peaceful use.

From BBC

However, says author Steve Olson, who wrote about the Manhattan Project’s plutonium reactors in “The Apocalypse Factory,” “that is not going to happen with any Republican administration if Republicans continue on their current path.”

From Los Angeles Times

That is comforting because Sellafield, in Cumbria, is the temporary home to the vast majority of the UK’s radioactive nuclear waste, as well as the world’s largest stockpile of plutonium.

From BBC

If you wanted to build a replica of the atomic bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki, you would only need a chunk of plutonium about the size of an arcade Skee-Ball.

From Salon

With only 6 years of power remaining in their electric generators, which run off the heat from decaying plutonium, time is running short for the spacecraft.

From Science Magazine