The Atomic Mass of the most common isotope of plutonium (Pu-234) is higher than the masses of the uranium natural isotopes.
The critical mass of plutonium is lower, plutonium is not so expensive as highly enriched uranium, the technology to obtain plutonium is more simple than the isotopic separa-tion of uranium, etc.
The density of uranium is 19,1 g/cm3. The density of plutonium is 19,816 g/cm3.
Plutonium has the same composition as uranium, except for the fact that it contains one more neutron and one more proton. Actually Plutonium-239 has 2 more protons and 2 more neutrons than Uranium-235.
A breeder reactor uses uranium-238 or plutonium-239 as fuel. These elements can undergo fission reactions and produce additional fuel as a byproduct, making breeder reactors efficient in generating more nuclear fuel than they consume.
Uranium. A breeder reactor can use either Uranium, Plutonium, or mixed Transuranic elements for fuel. Depleted Uranium or Thorium is used as the breeding blanket. Periodically the breeding blanket is changed: the old one reprocessed to make new fuel.
Plutonium generally has a lower atomic mass compared to uranium because it has fewer protons and neutrons in its nucleus. Plutonium isotopes tend to have a smaller number of nucleons overall compared to most uranium isotopes, resulting in a lower atomic mass.
The critical mass of plutonium is lower, plutonium is not so expensive as highly enriched uranium, the technology to obtain plutonium is more simple than the isotopic separa-tion of uranium, etc.
Uranium is a natural chemical element, plutonium is an artificial element (but note that plutonium exist also naturally in the earth crust in extremely low concentrations). Uranium has the atomic number 92 and plutonium 94. The critical mass of uranium is greater than the critical mass of plutonium. The melting and boiling points of U and Pu are different. Uranium has an orthorombic crystalline structure; the structure of plutonium is monoclinic. And many other physical and chemical properties are different.
Yes, plutonium is generally considered to be more powerful than uranium because it is a more efficient fuel for nuclear reactors and can sustain nuclear chain reactions more easily. Additionally, certain isotopes of plutonium are used in nuclear weapons due to their high explosive potential.
Yes, plutonium IS used in nuclear weaponry it is one of the two fission fuels (the other is enriched uranium) that provide the energy for the explosion. Traditionally plutonium has been the prefered fission fuel, as it is less expensive to manufacture in quantity with nuclear reactors than is enriching uranium and also has a lower critical mass than enriched uranium. However because plutonium is manufactured in reactors it is "contaminated" with heavier plutonium isotopes that have high rates of spontaneous fission and are more radioactive, making it unsuitable for a few bomb designs for which enriched uranium must be used.
The density of uranium is 19,1 g/cm3. The density of plutonium is 19,816 g/cm3.
The Pauling electronegativity of uranium is 1,38; the Pauling electronegativity of plutonium is 1,28.So, plutonium is a bit more chemically reactive than uranium.
Plutonium and enriched uranium are different materials.Enriched uranium is uranium with a concentration of the isotope 235U greater than the natural concentration of 0,7 %.
Depleted uranium is approx. 60% less radioactive than an equivalent mass of natural uranium.
There are numerous isotopes of both plutonium and uranium ( all radioactive) thus it is not easy to say which element is more radioactive. However the half lives of the most active isotpe of each compound is follows241Pu has a half life of 14 years232U has a half life of 68.9 yearsSo in terms of activity, Plutonium is more radioactive; however uranium stays radioactive for a longer time.The specific activity of plutonium is greater than the specific activity of uranium (comparison between 239Pu and 238U).
Not uranium 239, but uranium 235 and plutonium 239.
Plutonium has the same composition as uranium, except for the fact that it contains one more neutron and one more proton. Actually Plutonium-239 has 2 more protons and 2 more neutrons than Uranium-235.