Plutonium-240

Plutonium-240, 240Pu
General
Symbol240Pu
Namesplutonium-240, 240Pu, Pu-240
Protons (Z)94
Neutrons (N)146
Nuclide data
Natural abundanceTrace
Half-life (t1/2)6561(7) years[1]
Isotope mass240.0538135(20)[2] Da
Decay modes
Decay modeDecay energy (MeV)
Alpha decay5.25575(14)[2]
Isotopes of plutonium
Complete table of nuclides

Plutonium-240 (240
Pu
or Pu-240) is an isotope of plutonium formed when plutonium-239 captures a neutron. The detection of its spontaneous fission led to its discovery in 1944 at Los Alamos and had important consequences for the Manhattan Project.[3]

240Pu undergoes spontaneous fission as a secondary decay mode at a small but significant rate. The presence of 240Pu limits plutonium's use in a nuclear bomb, because the neutron flux from spontaneous fission initiates the chain reaction prematurely, causing an early release of energy that physically disperses the core before full implosion is reached.[4][5] It decays by alpha emission to uranium-236.

  1. ^ Audi, Georges; Bersillon, Olivier; Blachot, Jean; Wapstra, Aaldert Hendrik (December 2003). "The Nubase evaluation of nuclear and decay properties". Nuclear Physics A. 729 (1): 3–128. Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.8504. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001.
  2. ^ a b Audi, Georges; Wapstra, Aaldert Hendrik; Thibault, Catherine (December 2003). "The Ame2003 atomic mass evaluation". Nuclear Physics A. 729 (1): 337–676. Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729..337A. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.003.
  3. ^ Farwell, G. W. (1990). "Emilio Segre, Enrico Fermi, Pu-240, and the atomic bomb". Symposium to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Discovery of Transuranium Elements.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Bodansky, David (2007). "Nuclear Bombs, Nuclear Energy, and Terrorism". Nuclear Energy: Principles, Practices, and Prospects. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-26931-3.

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