Plutonium [Pu] (CAS-ID: 7440-07-5) locate me
An: 94 N: 150 Am: [244]
Group Name: Actinoid
Block: f-block  Period: 7 (actinoid)
State: solid at 298 K
Colour: silvery white Classification: Metallic
Boiling Point: 3501K (3228'C)
Melting Point: 912.5K (639.4'C)
Density: 19.816g/cm3
Shell Structure diagram | Atomic Radius diagram
Isotopes | More Info
Discovery Information
Who: G.T.Seaborg, J.W.Kennedy, E.M.McMillan, A.C.Wohl
When: 1940
Where: United States
Name Origin
From planet Pluto.
Sources
Almost all plutonium is manufactured synthetically, extremely tiny trace amounts are found naturally in uranium ores. Most plutonium is made synthetically by bombarding uranium with neutrons.
Uses
Used in bombs and reactors. Complete detonation of plutonium will produce an explosion equivalent to 20 kilotons of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) per kilogram (of plutonium).
Notes
The heat given off by alpha particle emission makes plutonium warm to the touch in reasonable quantities; larger amounts can boil water.
All isotopes and compounds of plutonium are toxic and radioactive.
When taken in by mouth, plutonium is less poisonous (except for risk of causing cancer) than several common substances including caffeine, acetaminophen, some vitamins, pseudoephedrine, and any number of plants and fungi. It is perhaps somewhat more poisonous than pure ethanol (C2H5OH), but less so than tobacco; and many illegal drugs. From a purely chemical standpoint, it is about as poisonous as lead and other heavy metals.
Images
Plutonium-gallium alloy ingot reclaimed from a weapon pit. Plutonium-gallium alloy ingot reclaimed from a weapon pit.
This is history's first gram-scale sample of plutonium metal ever fabricated (weight 520 milligrams), made at Los Alamos on March 23, 1944. This is history's first gram-scale sample of plutonium metal ever fabricated (weight 520 milligrams), made at Los Alamos on March 23, 1944.