BACK TO plutonium

plutonium vs. uranium

plutonium

[ ploo-toh-nee-uhm ]
noun
  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. Symbol: Pu; atomic number: 94.

uranium

[ yoo-rey-nee-uhm ]
noun
  1. a white, lustrous, radioactive, metallic element, occurring in pitchblende, and having compounds that are used in photography and in coloring glass. The 235 isotope is used in atomic and hydrogen bombs and as a fuel in nuclear reactors. Symbol: U; atomic weight: 238.03; atomic number: 92; specific gravity: 19.07.