Plutonium (Pu)
Plutonium is a radioactive element used in nuclear weapons and as fuel for space probes like Voyager.
Properties of Plutonium
- Atomic number
- 94
- Category
- Actinide
- Atomic mass
- 244 u
- Electron configuration
- [Rn] 5f⁶ 7s²
- Melting point
- 912.5 K (639.35 °C)
- Boiling point
- 3505 K (3231.85 °C)
- Density
- 19.84 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 1.28
- Appearance
- Silvery-white, tarnishes to dark gray
- Discovered by
- Glenn T. Seaborg (1940)
Facts about Plutonium
- Plutonium powers the Voyager spacecraft, which have left our solar system!
- Plutonium is named after the dwarf planet Pluto!
- Plutonium is warm to the touch because of its radioactivity!
- Just a few kilograms of plutonium can power a nuclear reactor!