Title: Plutonium Element | Uses, Facts, Physical & Chemical Characteristics
Headings: Plutonium
Plutonium
History and Discovery
Plutonium
Occurrence
Physical Characteristics
Chemical Characteristics
Significance and Uses
Health Hazards
Isotopes of Plutonium
REFERENCES
Other Periodic Table Elements

Content: This sensitivity to outer environment allows for dramatic volume changes and phase transitions from one form to another. This makes it difficult to machine. Significance and Uses
Due to its ease of fission, plutonium is used as fissile component for nuclear weaponry. And the critical mass of plutonium is about a third of uranium so very little quantity of plutonium can be used to make atomic bomb. Plutonium is used as fuel in commercial nuclear power reactors. Plutonium-238 is used in radioisotope heater units and radioisotope thermoelectric generators since it emits large amount of thermal energy making it well suited for devices that do not need direct maintenance for a long time [3]. Artificial heart pacemakers are powered by plutonium (Pu-238). It is also used to generate neutrons for research purposes. Plutonium is used as the power source for space crafts. Health Hazards
Plutonium is radioactive element.