Title: Plutonium | Encyclopedia.com
Headings: Plutonium (revised)
Plutonium (revised)
PLUTONIUM (REVISED)
Overview
SYMBOL
Pu
ATOMIC NUMBER
94
ATOMIC MASS
244.0642
Discovery and naming
Physical properties
Chemical properties
Occurrence in nature
Isotopes
Extraction
Uses
Using fuel to make fuel
Compounds
Health effects
Plutonium
Plutonium
Bibliography
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium
plutonium

Content: Fission of uranium-235 occurs when neutrons are fired into the reactor. Neutrons are subatomic particles with no electric charge. They cause uranium-235 to break apart, giving off energy. That energy is then used to make electricity. But neutrons also collide with uranium-238 isotopes in the reactor. This isotope does not undergo fission, but does undergo another kind of change. It soaks up neutrons and changes into plutonium-239: The plutonium that is formed can be removed from the reactor. It is then purified and re-used as fuel in another nuclear reactor. What an amazing process this is!