Noun
a highly fissionable isotope of plutonium that is used in atomic weapons and as a reactor fuel; produced by irradiating uranium 238 with slow electrons
Source: WordNetplutonium-239
It is estimated that up to half of the power produced by a standard "non-breeder" reactor is produced by the fission of plutonium-239 produced in place, over the total life-cycle of a fuel load. Source: Internet
Certain radioactive elements (such as plutonium-239 ) will remain hazardous to humans and other creatures for hundreds or thousands of years. Source: Internet
Initially, two major types of fission bombs were built: a relatively simple device that uses uranium-235 and a more complicated mechanism that uses plutonium-239 derived from uranium-238. Source: Internet
Curium-243 is not suitable for this purpose because of its short half-life and strong α emission which would result in excessive heat. citation Curium-247 would be highly suitable, having a half-life 647 times that of plutonium-239. Source: Internet
Initial research on the properties of plutonium was done using cyclotron-generated plutonium-239, which was extremely pure, but could only be created in very small amounts. Source: Internet
In-situ plutonium production also contributes to the neutron chain reaction in other types of reactors after sufficient plutonium-239 has been produced, since plutonium-239 is also a fissile element which serves as fuel. Source: Internet