Why was plutonium used instead of uranium?

Plutonium-239 is more frequently used in nuclear weapons than uranium-235, as it is easier to obtain in a quantity of critical mass. Both plutonium-239 and uranium-235 are obtained from Natural uranium, which primarily consists of uranium-238 but contains traces of other isotopes of uranium such as uranium-235.

Why is plutonium used in nuclear reactors?

Plutonium, both that routinely made in power reactors and that from dismantled nuclear weapons, is a valuable energy source when integrated into the nuclear fuel cycle. In a conventional nuclear reactor, one kilogram of Pu-239 can produce sufficient heat to generate nearly 8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity.

Why is uranium-238 not suitable for fuel in nuclear reactors?

The much more abundant uranium-238 does not undergo fission and therefore cannot be used as a fuel for nuclear reactors. However, if uranium-238 is bombarded with neutrons (from uranium-235, for example), it absorbs a neutron and is transformed into uranium-239.

Do nuclear reactors use plutonium or uranium?

Nuclear reactors that produce commercial power in the United States today create plutonium through the irradiation of uranium fuel. Some of the plutonium itself fissions—part of the chain reaction of splitting atoms that is the basis of nuclear power. Any plutonium that does not fission stays in the spent fuel.

How is plutonium made in a nuclear reactor?

Plutonium is created in a reactor when uranium atoms absorb neutrons. Nearly all plutonium is man-made. Plutonium predominantly emits alpha particles – a type of radiation that is easily stopped and has a short range. It also emits neutrons, beta particles and gamma rays.

Is uranium or plutonium used in nuclear bombs?

Most of the uranium used in current nuclear weapons is approximately 93.5 percent enriched uranium-235. Nuclear weapons typically contain 93 percent or more plutonium-239, less than 7 percent plutonium-240, and very small quantities of other plutonium isotopes.

Why is uranium and plutonium used to power atomic bombs?

The isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 were selected by the atomic scientists because they readily undergo fission. Both of those neutrons collide with uranium-235 atoms, each of which fission and release between one and three neutrons, and so on. This causes a nuclear chain reaction.