americium-241
Americium-241 (Am, Am-241) is an isotope of americium. Like all isotopes of americium, it is radioactive, with a half-life of . Am is the most common isotope of americium as well as the most prevalent americium isotope in radioactive waste. It is used in ionization-type smoke detectors and is a potential fuel for long-lifetime radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Its common parent nuclides are β from Pu, EC from Cm, and α from Bk. Am is fissile. The critical mass of a bare sphere is and a sphere diameter of . Americium-241 has a specific activity of . It is commonly found in the form
Key facts
- Isotope.symbol
- Am
- Isotope.mass_number
- 241
- Isotope.num_neutrons
- 146
- Isotope.num_protons
- 95
- Isotope.abundance
- 0 (synthetic)
- Isotope.image
- Americium button hd.jpg
- Isotope.image_caption
- Small button containing AmO from a smoke alarm
- Isotope.decay_product
- Neptunium-237
- Isotope.decay_symbol
- Np
- Isotope.decay_mass
- 237
- Isotope.decay_mode1
- α-decay (alpha)
- Isotope.decay_energy1
- 5.486
- Isotope.decay_mode2
Article
14 sectionsContents
- Nucleosynthesis
- Role in nuclear fuel
- Decay
- Applications
- Ionization-type smoke detector
- Manufacturing process
- RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) power generation
- Neutron source
- Production of other elements
- Spectrometer
- Medicine
- Hazards
- See also
- References
Americium-241 (Am, Am-241) is an isotope of americium. Like all isotopes of americium, it is radioactive, with a half-life of . Am is the most common isotope of americium as well as the most prevalent americium isotope in radioactive waste. It is used in ionization-type smoke detectors and is a potential fuel for long-lifetime radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). Its common parent nuclides are β from Pu, EC from Cm, and α from Bk. Am is fissile. The critical mass of a bare sphere is and a sphere diameter of . Americium-241 has a specific activity of . It is commonly found in the form of americium-241 dioxide (AmO). The presence of Am in plutonium is determined by the original concentration of plutonium-241 (which decays to it) and its age. Older samples of plutonium containing Pu build up Am may require chemical removable of americium-241 (e.g., during reworking of plutonium's pits).
== Nucleosynthesis == Americium-241 has been produced in small quantities in nuclear reactors for decades, and many kilograms of Am have been accumulated by now. Nevertheless, since it was first offered for sale in 1962, its price, about per gram of Am, remains almost unchanged owing to the very complex separation procedure.