Plutonium

A detailed Summary of Plutonium

The name of the element I researched was Plutonium. The symbol for this

element is PU and its atomic number is 94. The name is derived from the planet

Pluto. Plutonite is a silvery radioactive metal in the actinide series. The actinide

series are radioactive metals, with the atomic numbers 89 through 103. All these

members of the actinide series have chemical properties similar to actinium. The

elements in this series with atomic numbers greater than 92 are the transuranium

elements. Only two transuraium elements occur in nature, these are neptunium and

plutonium. They are produced in miniscule amounts by the decay of uranium.

Plutonium was first discovered by Glenn Theodore Seaborg, an American

chemist. He worked at the University of Chicago during World War II developing

the atom bomb. In 1951 Glenn Theodore Seaborg and Edwin M. McMillan shared

a Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on the

uranium-235 and plutonium-239. These isotopes are capable of undergoing a

A different use for plutonium is to power a nuclear reactor. A nuclear

One of the many uses for plutonium is the production of nuclear energy.

it, too, continues to decay until a nonradioactive daughter is formed.

californium, einsteinium, fermium, mendelvium, and nobelium. Glenn Seaborg,

(3232 degrees Celsius). Plutonium-239 is produced by bombarding uranium-238

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Category: Science

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