Plutonium
Atomic Number: 94
Plutonium is the 94th element in the periodic table and it is one of the actinides. It has a silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air. Plutonium is used in batteries to power heart pacemakers to provide a long lasting source of energy. Plutonium (like uranium) is used in power plants and nuclear weapons. Plutonium is extremely dangerous because it emits alpha particles, which can be inhaled. The alpha particles can kill lung cells which can eventually cause cancer. Plutonium is generally not found in earths crust other than trace amounts in uranium ore. Though, plutonium can be made by irradiation (when something is exposed to radiation) of normal uranium and then decaying into plutonium. Plutonium was discovered in 1941 by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg and Edwin McMillan. It was discovered in the University of California but the discovery was kept secret. This is because of world war II. It was made by bombarding uranium-238 with deuterium particles (it is hydrogen nucleus with a neutron) also know as heavy hydrogen. Plutonium (as you might expect) was named after the dwarf planet pluto which was actually considered a full planet at the time. |
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