Plutonium-239

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#wiki#$ mage: %m&o '(cont ent"png Plutonium-239 is an isotope of plutonium" Plutonium-239 is one of the three fissile isotopes use) for the pro)uction of nuclear weapons an) in nuclear reactors as a source of energ*" +ther fissile isotopes use) are uranium-23, an) uranium-233" 2ame, s*m&ol 2eutrons Protons 3alf-life Parent isotopes Plutonium-239,239Pu .-, 92-,../ *ears 2-3 4m 5! 239 %m 64! 239 2p 7-! 23, U :; "ecay energy

8eca* pro)ucts 9pin "ecay mode %lpha )eca* Plutonium-239 has a half life of 2-,../ *ears" 0he nuclear properties of plutonium-239, as well as the a&ilit* to pro)uce large amounts of nearl* pure plutonium-239, le) to its use in nuclear weapons an) nuclear power" 0he fissioning of an atom of uranium-23, in the reactor of a nuclear power plant pro)uces two to three neutrons, an) these neutrons can &e a&sor&e) &* uranium-231 to pro)uce plutonium-239 an) other isotopes" Plutonium-239 can also a&sor& neutrons an) fission along with the uranium-23," Plutonium fissions provi)e a&out one-thir) of the total energ* pro)uce) in a t*pical commercial nuclear power plant" 0he use of plutonium-239 in power plants occurs without it ever &eing remove) from the nuclear reactor fuel, i#e#, it is fissione) in the same fuel ro)s in which it is pro)uce)"

[edit !anufacture
Pu-239 is normall* manufacture) in nuclear reactors &* transmutation of in)ivi)ual atoms of one of the isotopes of uranium present in the fuel ro)s" +ccasionall*, when an atom of U-231 is e'pose) to

neutron ra)iation, its nucleus will capture a neutron, changing it to U-239" 0his happens more easil* with fast neutrons than with slow neutrons, although &oth can &e use)" 0he U-239 then rapi)l* un)ergoes two &eta )eca*s" %fter the 231U a&sor&s a neutron to &ecome 239U it then emits an electron

an) an anti-neutrino ! &* 7< )eca* to &ecome 2eptunium-239 then emits another electron an) anti-neutrino &* a secon) =- )eca* to &ecome 239Pu:

239

2p! an)

Fission activit* is relativel* rare, so even after significant e'posure, the Pu-239 is still mi'e) with a great )eal of U-231 an) possi&l* other isotopes of uranium!, o'*gen, other components of the original material, an) fission pro)ucts" 0he Pu-239 can then &e chemicall* separate) from the rest of the material to *iel) high-purit* Pu-239 metal" Pu-239 has a higher pro&a&ilit* for fission than U-23, an) a larger num&er of neutrons pro)uce) per fission event, so it has a smaller critical mass" Pure Pu-239 also has a reasona&l* low rate of neutron

emission )ue to spontaneous fission ./ fission#s-kg!, making it feasi&le to assem&le a supercritical mass &efore pre)etonation" $n practice, however, reactor-&re) plutonium pro)uce) will invaria&l* contain a certain amount of Pu2-/ )ue to the ten)enc* of Pu-239 to a&sor& an a))itional neutron )uring pro)uction" Pu-2-/ has a high rate of spontaneous fission events -.,,/// fission#s-kg!, making it an un)esira&le contaminant" %s a result, plutonium containing a significant fraction of Pu-2-/ is not well-suite) to use in nuclear weapons> it emits neutron ra)iation, making han)ling more )ifficult, an) its presence can lea) to a ?fi@@le? in which a small e'plosion occurs, )estro*ing the weapon &ut not causing fission of a significant fraction of the fuel" $t is &ecause of this limitation that plutonium-&ase) weapons must &e implosion-t*pe, rather than gun-t*pe" 0he U9 has constructe) a single e'perimental &om& using onl* reactor-gra)e plutonium"! Aoreover, Pu-239 an) Pu-2-/ cannot &e chemicall* )istinguishe), so e'pensive an) )ifficult isotope separation woul) &e necessar* to acBuire enough fuel to &uil) a nuclear weapon using such a mi'" Ceapons-gra)e plutonium must contain no more than DE Pu-2-/> this is achieve) &* onl* e'posing U-231 to neutron sources for short perio)s of time to minimi@e the Pu-2-/ pro)uce)" Plutonium is classifie) accor)ing to the percentage of the contaminant plutonium-2-/ that it contains: 9uper gra)e 2-3E> Ailitar* gra)e less than DE> Fuel gra)e D-.1E> Feactor gra)e .1E or more" % nuclear reactor that is use) to pro)uce plutonium must therefore have a means for e'posing U-231 to neutron ra)iation an) for freBuentl* rotating the fuel" % reactor running on unenriche) or mo)eratel* enriche) uranium naturall* contains a great )eal of U-231" 3owever, most commercial nuclear power reactor )esigns reBuire the entire reactor to shut )own, often for weeks, in or)er to change the fuel elements" 0he* therefore pro)uce plutonium in a mi' of isotopes that is not well-suite) to weapon construction" 9uch a reactor coul) have machiner* a))e) that woul) permit U-231 slugs to &e place) near the core an) change) freBuentl*, or it coul) &e shut )own freBuentl*, so proliferation is a concern> for this reason, the $nternational %tomic 6nerg* %genc* inspects license) reactors often" % few commercial power reactor )esigns, such as the reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalniy FGAH! an) pressurise) heav* water reactor P3CF!, )o permit refueling without shut)owns, an) the* ma* pose a proliferation risk" $n fact, the FGAH was &uilt &* the 9oviet Union )uring the col) war, so )espite their ostensi&l* peaceful purpose, it is likel* that plutonium pro)uction was a )esign criterion"! Aost plutonium is pro)uce) in research reactors or plutonium pro)uction reactors calle) &ree)er reactors &ecause the* pro)uce more plutonium than the* consume fuel> in principle, such reactors make e'tremel* efficient use of natural uranium" $n practice, their construction an) operation is sufficientl* )ifficult that the* are generall* onl* use) to pro)uce plutonium" Gree)er reactors are generall* &ut not alwa*s! fast reactors, since fast neutrons are somewhat more efficient at plutonium pro)uction" Plutonium-239 #sotopes of Plutonium Plutonium-2$% Pro)uce) from: &urium-2$3 5! 8eca*s to: "ecay chain 'mericium-239 64! )ranium-23* a! (eptunium-239 7-! (((