Concept in Definition ABC

This element of the periodic table It is of the transuranic type, since it is an element whose atomic number is greater than 92, such as americium, curium or californium. His symbol chemical is Pu, its atomic weight is 94, its melting point is 639 degrees Celsius, and its atomic mass is 244 u. As for its name, it is related to Pluto (the Roman god of death) and to the planet with the same name.

The main ingredient in nuclear weapons

Plutonium is used as a heat source in thermoelectric generators on spacecraft or in meteorological satellites. On the other hand, it is the element that intervenes in the activation mechanism of nuclear bombs.

By detonation we understand the propagation of a flame at supersonic speeds. This phenomenon is opposed to another, deflagration (in this case the propagation of the flame takes place at sub-sonic speeds, as occurs with gunpowder). The explosive reaction of a nuclear bomb is neither a detonation nor a deflagration, but a nuclear reaction. This reaction occurs because huge amounts of

Energy they are released by small amounts of matter.

There are two versions of nuclear bombs: nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The former initiate a reaction in two ways (the first fires a mass of fissile material such as uranium and the second consists of compressing a mass of submaterial material. critical, such as plutonium 239). This form of plutonium is the one used in the manufacturing of nuclear weapons.

Fat man was the code term for the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki

This device caused the destruction of the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the devastating power of plutonium 239. The bomb was 3.6 meters long by 1.5 meters wide. Fat Man was launched on August 9, 1945 at 11 am from a B-29 "Bockscar". At the time of its explosion there was a flash much higher than that of the Sun, since its power it was 20,000 tons of TNT. The bomb caused 70,000 victims and 170,000 injuries due to burns and radioactive illnesses.

Six days after the nuclear explosion the government of Japan announced its surrender and a month later the authorities of the country Japan accepted the conditions imposed by the victors in the Potsdam Declaration.

Fotolia photos: Jegas RA / Rcpsi

Topics in Plutonium