Title: Plutonium
Headings: Plutonium Element Facts
Plutonium Element Facts
Pu
Data Zone
A plutonium ‘button.’ Photo: Department of Energy
Discovery of Plutonium
Dr. Doug Stewart
Appearance and Characteristics
Harmful effects:
Characteristics:
Uses of Plutonium
Abundance and Isotopes
References
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Content: III: Pu 3+ (blue lavender)
IV: Pu 4+ (yellow brown)
V: PuO 2+ (pink) (in sodium perchlorate)
VI: PuO 22+ (yellow)
VII: PuO 52+ (olive green) (in sodium hydroxide). ( 5)
If you were to touch a small piece of plutonium metal (please don’t!) it would feel warm because of the energy released by alpha decay. A larger piece of the metal could boil water. Uses of Plutonium
Plutonium-239, which can undergo nuclear chain reactions, is used in nuclear bombs and nuclear reactors
Plutonium-238 is used as a long-lived heat and power source for space probes. (