plutonium
[ploo-toh-nee-uh m]
- a transuranic element with a fissile isotope of mass number 239 (plutonium 239) that can be produced from non-fissile uranium 238, as in a breeder reactor. Symbol: Pu; atomic number: 94.
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Origin of plutonium
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for plutonium
Contemporary Examples
When my oldest child was a toddler, I treated illuminated screens like plutonium.
The plutonium was sent to a place called the Plutonium Finishing Plant.
So was the plutonium that went into the construction of the nuclear bomb Fat Man, which was detonated over Nagasaki.
Possibly as triumphant as ending World War II with a bomb made from plutonium developed here.
I drank an International Proton Pale Ale and opted not to follow it up with a Plutonium Porter.
Historical Examples
Hey, you're not thinking of selling Amaterasu plutonium and Beowulf gadolinium, are you?
Space VikingHenry Beam Piper
Now the conversion mass is all gone, and the plutonium's all spent.
The Cosmic ComputerHenry Beam Piper
The plutonium core was inserted into the device with some difficulty.
Trinity [Atomic test] SiteWhite Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office
This resulted in the formation of 200 micrograms of plutonium.
I wonder if he has any idea of what else plutonium can be used for?
Ullr UprisingHenry Beam Piper
plutonium
- 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 239 Pu: 24 360 years; valency: 3, 4, 5, or 6; relative density (alpha modification): 19.84; melting pt: 640°C; boiling pt: 3230°C
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Word Origin
C20: named after the dwarf planet Pluto because Pluto lies beyond Neptune and plutonium was discovered soon after neptunium
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for plutonium
n.
transuranic element, 1942, from Pluto, the planet, + element ending -ium. Discovered at University of California, Berkeley, in 1941, the element named on suggestion of Seaborg and Wahl because it follows neptunium in the periodic table as Pluto follows Neptune in the Solar System. The name plutonium earlier had been proposed for barium and was sometimes used in this sense early 19c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
plutonium
(plōō-tō′nē-əm)- A naturally radioactive, metallic transuranic element, occurring in uranium ores or produced artificially by neutron bombardment of uranium, used in radionuclide batteries in pacemakers. Its longest-lived isotope is Pu 244 with a half-life of 77 million years. Atomic number 94.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
plutonium
[plōō-tō′nē-əm]
- 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 80 million years. Atomic number 94; melting point 640°C; boiling point 3,228°C; specific gravity 19.84; valence 3, 4, 5, 6. See Periodic Table.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
plutonium
[(plooh-toh-nee-uhm)]
A radioactive chemical element that is artificially derived from uranium.
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Note
Plutonium is used in nuclear reactors.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.