Plutonium


 * __PLUTONIUM__

Hello, I am chocochiporeo169 and this is my wiki on plutonium. **


 * __Uses__**

[|Plutonium] comes from some uranium ores and can be man-made. Even though [|plutonium] is very dangerous, because of its radioactivity, it has many uses. Plutonium is used in nuclear bombs and many other nuclear weapons. Also, plutonium can be used in nuclear reactors. Plutonium can also be used to manufacture radiological weapons. Plutonium may seem like an element that only destroys, but it is actually the power generation of specific objects because it is a 500 watt power source and is needed on things that need to run for a really long time, such as many space crafts (NASA is using a lot of plutonium to power their satellites and deep space probes), plutonium is even used to power heart pace makers. Plutonium is very dangerous but many things wouldn't be possible without plutonium. __**History**__

The great scientist, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, “discovered” plutonium. He discovered plutonium in 1941 in the radiation laboratory of the University of Berkeley, California. Seaborg discovered plutonium by looking at the leftovers of uranium ores. Even though plutonium is quite natural, it can also be man made. In its history, plutonium has been known for how dangerous it is (some even say it’s the most dangerous of all the elements). It probably got everybody thinking this after its 239 isotope (isotope is when the atom is added more neutrons but the number of protons and electrons stay the same) was used in the bomb that was dropped in the city of Nagasaki, Japan which injured and killed 200,000 people. The ones that were close to the bomb when it blew up instantly evaporated, they went from a solid to a gas (which is called sublimation) it didn't turn into a liquid. Because of this tragic moment in history, the bombs (both uranium and plutonium) ended World War 2.

__**Characteristics of Plutonium**__

Plutonium has many chemical characteristics. Plutonium reacts with carbon, silicon, and halogens. Halogens are the elements in the 17 group of the periodic table, which is made up of reactive nonmetallic elements (e.g. fluorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine). The reason that plutonium reacts with carbon, halogens, and silicon is because they all have 1 electron that they need to complete their outer shell and plutonium has 1 electron that it can give away to make its outer shell complete, so they both bond and become stable. Plutonium also has a lot of physical characteristics. Plutonium has a silvery-white appearance and is warm to touch. Plutonium is very radioactive (radioactive means that it emits particles that are harmful because of the loss or gain of an electron) and has an explosion equivalent to 200,000 tons of TNT. Plutonium is a solid and a metal. Its boiling point is 3230°C (5846°F) and its melting point is 639.4°C (1182°F). Also, plutonium is a great energy source because large pieces of it will produce enough energy to boil water.

__**Sub-Atomic Particles**__ Plutonium has a very heavy atom because of all the protons, neutrons, and electrons in it. Its atomic mass (the mass of all the electrons, protons, and neutrons) is 244.0 amu. Its atomic number (number of protons in nucleus, the number of protons is equal to the amount of electrons it has) is 94. Here is a picture of plutonium’s atom. The nucleus is formed of 94 protons that are positively charged and 150 neutrons, which are neutrally charged. Then, there are 94 electrons that are negatively charged quickly orbiting the nucleus.

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__**Works Cited**__-__**Bibliography**__ "Chemical Elements.com - Plutonium (Pu)." Chemical Elements.com - An Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements. Web. 08 June 2010. .

Dingle, Adrian. The Periodic Table: Elements with Style! Boston: Kingfisher, 2007. Print.

Dynamic Periodic Table. Web. 08 June 2010. .

"Plutonium (Pu) - Chemical Properties, Health and Environmental Effects." Water Treatment and Purification - Lenntech. Web. 08 June 2010. .

__**Visuals- BIbliography**__

"File:Electron Shell 094 Plutonium.png." //Wikimedia Commons//. Web. 13 June 2010. .

"File:Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator Plutonium Pellet.jpg." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Web. 08 June 2010. .