https://issuepedia.org/mw/index.php?title=Plutonium&feed=atom&action=historyPlutonium - Revision history2024-03-29T00:47:12ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.35.0https://issuepedia.org/mw/index.php?title=Plutonium&diff=30874&oldid=prevMmurase: /* About */2013-02-21T23:05:31Z<p><span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">About</span></span></p>
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<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Plutonium-239 is made when uranium-238 captures a thermal spectrum neutron and undergoes two beta decays. Like thorium, uranium-238 in this context is considered ''fertile'', whereas plutonium-239 is considered ''fissile''. Plutonium-239 will fission 62% to 73% of the time on neutron capture.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Plutonium-239 is made when uranium-238 captures a thermal spectrum neutron and undergoes two beta decays. Like thorium, uranium-238 in this context is considered ''fertile'', whereas plutonium-239 is considered ''fissile''. Plutonium-239 will fission 62% to 73% of the time on neutron capture.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'>−</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #ffe49c; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Plutonium is attractive for advocates of the [[fast reactor]], because plutonium is very likely to fission when it captures a fast neutron. However, the neutron cross section, or the probability of capturing a neutron, is much smaller in the fast spectrum.</div></td><td class='diff-marker'>+</td><td style="color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #a3d3ff; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>Plutonium is attractive for advocates of the [[fast reactor]], because plutonium is very likely to fission when it captures a fast neutron. However, the neutron cross section, or the probability of capturing a neutron, is much smaller in the fast spectrum<ins class="diffchange diffchange-inline">. Plutonium-239 has the lowest critical mass of any fissile material, which makes it particularly well-suited to weaponization</ins>.</div></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>===Other isotopes===</div></td><td class='diff-marker'> </td><td style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 88%; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 4px; border-radius: 0.33em; border-color: #eaecf0; vertical-align: top; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div>===Other isotopes===</div></td></tr>
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</table>Mmurasehttps://issuepedia.org/mw/index.php?title=Plutonium&diff=30871&oldid=prevMmurase: /* Reference */ Fixed copypasta bug...2013-02-21T22:08:42Z<p><span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">Reference: </span> Fixed copypasta bug...</span></p>
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</table>Mmurasehttps://issuepedia.org/mw/index.php?title=Plutonium&diff=30619&oldid=prevMmurase: Created page with "==About== '''Plutonium''' is a radioactive element, commonly created when low-enriched or natural uranium is irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Several isotopes of plutonium hav..."2013-01-27T20:07:16Z<p>Created page with "==About== '''Plutonium''' is a radioactive element, commonly created when low-enriched or natural uranium is irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Several isotopes of plutonium hav..."</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>==About==<br />
'''Plutonium''' is a radioactive element, commonly created when low-enriched or natural uranium is irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Several isotopes of plutonium have been identified, but plutonium-239 garners the most interest due to its viability as both a nuclear fuel and as weapons material.<br />
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Plutonium-239 is made when uranium-238 captures a thermal spectrum neutron and undergoes two beta decays. Like thorium, uranium-238 in this context is considered ''fertile'', whereas plutonium-239 is considered ''fissile''. Plutonium-239 will fission 62% to 73% of the time on neutron capture.<br />
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Plutonium is attractive for advocates of the [[fast reactor]], because plutonium is very likely to fission when it captures a fast neutron. However, the neutron cross section, or the probability of capturing a neutron, is much smaller in the fast spectrum.<br />
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===Other isotopes===<br />
Plutonium-240 is the result when plutonium-239 captures a neutron without fissioning. The ratio of plutonium-239 to plutonium-240 determines the grade of plutonium; a high ratio is ''weapons-grade'' because plutonium-240 has a chance of spontaneously fissioning, which can destroy the plutonium in a nuclear weapon.<br />
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Plutonium-238 is made in a more complicated manner. A nucleus of uranium-235 captures 3 neutrons in succession, and undergoes 2 beta decays. Because of its comparatively short half-life (87 years) and alpha decay (ionized helium atom, or 2 protons and 2 neutrons), it is useless in weapons, but is ideal for devices called radioisotope thermoelectric generators. These devices use the heat and alpha decay of the radioisotope to generate small amounts of electricity over a very long time. This is the power source of NASA's long-term space probes like ''Voyager'', ''Galileo'', and ''Curiosity''.<br />
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==Links==<br />
===Reference===<br />
* {{wikipedia}}<br />
* {{conservapedia}}: two sentences as of 2013-01-27; no mention of Thorium nuclear power</div>Mmurase