Plutonium – the 94th elementChemical base material which cannot be chemically converted ... in the classification of elementsSystem for tabulating elements according to their atomic num... – was discovered in 1940 by the American researchers Seaborg, McMillan, Wahl and Kennedy as the second transuranium elementChemical element in the classification of elements, the atom... upon bombardment of uranium-238 with deuterons, thus forming Pu-238. Today 15 Pu-isotopes are known. Due to its property as fissile materialAny substance which can be fissioned by neutrons, during whi..., the isotopeAtoms of the same atomic number (i.e. the same chemical elem... Pu-239 (half-lifeThe period during which half of the nuclei decay in a quanti... 24,110 years) is of specific importance. The elements 93 and 94 following the 92nd elementChemical base material which cannot be chemically converted ... – uraniumNatural radioactive element with the atomic number 92. The n... – in the classification of elementsSystem for tabulating elements according to their atomic num... have been named analogously to uraniumNatural radioactive element with the atomic number 92. The n..., which is named after the planet Uranus, ‘neptunium’ and ‘plutonium’, the planets Neptune and Pluto following Uranus. Plutonium is generated by neutronUncharged elementary particle with a mass of 1.67492716 ·10... capture in uranium-238 and two subsequent beta decays according to the following scheme:
U-238 + n ==> U-239 ==> ß-decay ==> Np-239 ==> ß-decay ==> Pu-239.
In nature, plutonium-239 occurs in tiny quantities in minerals containing uraniumNatural radioactive element with the atomic number 92. The n... (pitchblende, carnotite) – one Pu atomSmallest particle of an element which cannot be chemically d... per 1 trillion and more uraniumNatural radioactive element with the atomic number 92. The n... atoms. It is formed from U-238 by neutronUncharged elementary particle with a mass of 1.67492716 ·10... capture released upon the spontaneous fissionSee 'nuclear fission'. of U-238. In above-ground nuclear weapon tests, approx. six tonnes Pu-239 were released into the atmosphere and distributed all over the world, so that in Central Europe for example, about 60 BqSymbol for becquerel, the name of the unit for activity. Pu-239 per m2 have been deposited. Plutonium is a radiotoxic substance and its chemical toxicity as a heavy metal is therefore negligible. The radiotoxic effect of plutonium is very serious in the case of inhalationIntake of - radioactive - substances with breathed in air. of the finest Pu aerosols; ingestionIntake of - radioactive - substances through food and drinki... of plutonium is about 10,000 times less dangerous, since only 1/100 percent of plutonium is absorbed by the intestinal mucosa, 99.99% is excreted immediately.