Plutonium
⚛️ In Your World
Plutonium is a synthetic radioactive element with a profound impact on modern history. Its isotope, plutonium-239, is a key fissile component in most modern nuclear weapons. Another isotope, plutonium-238, is used as a long-life heat source in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which power deep-space probes like the Voyager and New Horizons spacecraft, and Mars rovers like Curiosity.
📖 The Discovery Story
Plutonium was first produced and isolated in late 1940 by a team led by Glenn T. Seaborg at the University of California, Berkeley. They created it by bombarding a uranium-238 target with deuterons. Following the planetary naming scheme of its predecessors, uranium and neptunium, the new element was named "plutonium" after Pluto, which had been considered the next planet out. The discovery was kept secret until after World War II due to its military significance.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Melting Point | 640 °C / 1184 °F |
| Boiling Point | 3228 °C / 5842 °F |
| Electron Configuration | [Rn] 5f⁶7s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | Trace amounts |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Plutonium is extremely dangerous due to its intense radioactivity and chemical toxicity. It is a potent alpha emitter, and inhaling even a tiny amount of plutonium dust can be fatal as it lodges in the lungs and is absorbed into the bones, where it can cause cancer. It is also fissile, meaning that a sufficient mass can undergo a spontaneous nuclear chain reaction. It must be handled with extreme precautions in specialized, high-security facilities.