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plutonium

plutonium

84 9.4
A very radioactive silvery metal used as fuel in nuclear reactors and weapons
  • noun
  • /pluˈtoʊniəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : plutonio
  • The Iraq reactor can produce plutonium, but there are simple solutions to that.
  • weapons-grade plutonium
  • plutonium bomb
  • reactor-grade plutonium

They put in those terms to be able to recycle plutonium into new fuel.

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Examples

  • Helping an arms dealer steal weapons-grade plutonium is unacceptable, Priya.

  • The handling of plutonium requires strict safety protocols due to its radioactive properties.

  • Even kids know a single drop of plutonium could poison an entire lake.

  • Your objective is to make sure the plutonium is returned safely to our base.

  • Imagine what 10 of them will do, with a core of weapons-grade plutonium.

  • By the early 1990s, India had extensive nuclear facilities that could produce and reprocess plutonium for nuclear weapons.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Thus, the source of the bomb's plutonium and the probable rate of plutonium production were now understood.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The evidence that Joe-1 was a plutonium bomb remained classified Top Secret for more than a dozen years.

    Academic text (1996)
  • On-site analysis of the radioactive material also hinted that the plutonium was produced during Hanford's early years.

    Academic text (2011)
  • They used enriched uranium or plutonium, and their energy was essentially entirely derived from fission reactions.

Synonyms

Pu
vsplutonium
  • Specialized
4 9.8

A chemical symbol for plutonium, a radioactive metal used for nuclear fuel and weapons

is the full written name instead of the short chemical symbol

Compounds

3 9.5

A very pure form of the radioactive metal plutonium used to make nuclear weapons

plutonium bomb
  • Specialized
1 7.2

A very powerful bomb that uses plutonium to make a huge nuclear explosion

plutonium pit
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A metal sphere with plutonium that starts a nuclear explosion when squeezed by explosives

plutonium trigger
  • Specialized
9.9

A small metal device that holds plutonium and starts a nuclear explosion when explosives squeeze it

plutonium-239
  • Specialized
8.1

A radioactive metal used as fuel in nuclear reactors and to make nuclear weapons

weapons plutonium
  • Specialized
9.2

Plutonium taken from old nuclear bombs that can be used to make new weapons

How Energy-Rich

plutonium
  • Specialized
84 9.4
uranium-235
  • Specialized
2 7.2
nuclear fuel
  • Specialized
17 4.6
uranium-238
  • Specialized
7.9
uranium ore
  • Specialized
2 8.2

Surface Forms

plutonium singular
plutoniums plural

Morphology

plutonium = Pluto (semi-transparent) = pluton + ium

The suffix '-ium' signals a chemical element, but the choice of 'Pluto' as the name is arbitrary and does not convey the element's properties.

Etymology

The word plutonium is named after the distant planet Pluto, because scientists named new elements after planets and this one was discovered after neptunium, just like Pluto comes after Neptune. Pluto is also the Roman god of the 'underworld', so the name gives the idea of something heavy, hidden, and dangerous, which helps explain why plutonium is a powerful, radioactive metal.