plutonium
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niBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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plutonium (pluːˈtəʊnɪəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a highly toxic metallic transuranic element. It occurs in trace amounts in uranium ores and is produced in a nuclear reactor by neutron bombardment of uranium-238. The most stable and important isotope, plutonium-239, readily undergoes fission and is used as a reactor fuel in nuclear power stations and in nuclear weapons. Symbol: Pu; atomic no: 94; half-life of 239Pu: 24 360 years; valency: 3, 4, 5, or 6; relative density (alpha modification): 19.84; melting pt: 640°C; boiling pt: 3230°C | |
| [C20: named after the dwarf planet Pluto because Pluto lies beyond Neptune and plutonium was discovered soon after | |
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| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
plutonium
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plutonium plu·to·ni·um (pl&oomacr;-tō'nē-əm)
n.
Symbol Pu
A naturally radioactive, metallic transuranic element, occurring in uranium ores or produced artificially by neutron bombardment of uranium. Its longest-lived isotope is Pu 244 with a half-life of 77 million years. Atomic number 94; melting point 640°C; boiling point 3,228°C; specific gravity 19.84; valence 3, 4, 5, 6.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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plutonium (pl -tō'nē-əm) Pronunciation Key
Symbol Pu A silvery, radioactive metallic element of the actinide series that has the highest atomic number of all naturally occurring elements. It is found in minute amounts in uranium ores and is produced artificially by bombarding uranium with neutrons. It is absorbed by bone marrow and is highly poisonous. Plutonium is used in nuclear weapons and as a fuel in nuclear reactors. Its longest-lived isotope is Pu 244 with a half-life of 76 million years. Atomic number 94; melting point 640°C; boiling point 3,232°C; specific gravity 19.84; valence 3, 4, 5, 6. See Periodic Table. |
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A radioactive chemical element that is artificially derived from uranium.
Note: Plutonium is used in nuclear reactors.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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plutonium
radioactive chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 94. It is the most important transuranium element because of its use as fuel in certain types of nuclear reactors and as an ingredient in nuclear weapons. Plutonium, warm because of energy released in alpha decay, is a silvery metal that takes on a yellow tarnish in air. The element was first detected (1941) as the isotope plutonium-238 by Glenn T. Seaborg, Joseph W. Kennedy, and Arthur C. Wahl, who produced it by deuteron bombardment of uranium-238 in the 60-inch cyclotron at Berkeley, California. Traces of plutonium have subsequently been found in uranium ores, where it is not primeval but naturally produced by neutron irradiation
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