Title: 21 Plutonium Facts (Pu or Atomic Number 94)
Headings: Facts About Plutonium (Pu or Atomic Number 94)
Facts About Plutonium (Pu or Atomic Number 94)
Fast Facts: Plutonium
Facts About Plutonium

Content: Near its melting point, liquid plutonium also exhibits higher-than-usual viscosity and surface tension for a metal. Plutonium is used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which are used to power spacecraft. The element has been used in nuclear weapons, including the Trinity test and the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. Plutonium-238 was once used to power heart pacemakers. Plutonium and its compounds are toxic and accumulate in bone marrow. Inhalation of plutonium and its compounds increases the risk of lung cancer, although many people have inhaled substantial amounts of plutonium yet didn't develop lung cancer. Inhaled plutonium is said to have a metallic taste. Criticality accidents involving plutonium have occurred. The amount of plutonium required for critical mass is about one-third that necessary for uranium-235. Plutonium in solution is more likely to form critical mass than solid plutonium because the hydrogen in water acts as a moderator.