plutonium-238
Sign in to savePlutonium-238 (' or Pu-238') is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years.
Key facts
- Isotope.symbol
- Pu
- Isotope.mass_number
- 238
- Isotope.mass
- 238.049553
- Isotope.image
- Plutonium pellet.jpg
- Isotope.image_caption
- Plutonium-238 oxide pellet glowing from its decay heat
- Isotope.num_neutrons
- 144
- Isotope.num_protons
- 94
- Isotope.decay_product
- Uranium-234
- Isotope.decay_mass
- 234
- Isotope.decay_symbol
- U
- Isotope.decay_mode1
- Alpha decay
- Isotope.decay_energy1
- 5.593
- Isotope.parent
- Curium-242
- Isotope.parent_mass
- 242
- Isotope.parent_symbol
- Cm
- Isotope.parent_decay
- a
- Isotope.parent2
- Neptunium-238
- Isotope.parent2_mass
- 238
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
13 sectionsContents
- History
- Initial production
- Manhattan Project
- Plutonium-238 and human experimentation
- Weapons
- Use in radioisotope thermoelectric generators
- Nuclear powered pacemakers
- Production
- U.S. production ceases and resumes
- Applications
- See also
- References
- External links
Plutonium-238 (' or Pu-238') is a radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years.
Plutonium-238 is a very powerful alpha emitter; as alpha particles are easily blocked, this makes the plutonium-238 isotope suitable for usage in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and radioisotope heater units. The density of plutonium-238 at room temperature is about 19.8 g/cc. The material will generate about 0.57 watts per gram of 238Pu.