Plutonium is a radioactive element used especially in nuclear weapons and as a fuel in nuclear power stations.
plutonium in British English
(pluːˈtəʊnɪəm)
noun
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 239Pu: 24 360 years; valency: 3, 4, 5, or 6; relative density (alpha modification): 19.84; melting pt: 640°C; boiling pt: 3230°C
Word origin
C20: named after the dwarf planet Pluto because Pluto lies beyond Neptune and plutonium was discovered soon after neptunium
plutonium in American English
(pluˈtoʊniəm)
US
noun
a radioactive, metallic chemical element, one of the actinides, found in trace quantities in native uranium ores and produced by bombarding uranium with deuterons: symbol, Pu; at. no., 94: its most important isotope (plutonium-239) is used in nuclear weapons and as a reactor fuel
Word origin
ModL, after Pluto (planet) + -ium: so named (1942) by G. T. Seaborg, E. M. McMillan, A. C. Wahl (1917-2006), & J. W. Kennedy (1916-57), U.S. physicists who isolatedit (1940), because next to neptunium, as Pluto comes next to Neptune
Examples of 'plutonium' in a sentence
plutonium
The programme, broadcast last night, also showed that liquids containing plutonium and uranium had been stored for years in plastic bottles.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The programme, broadcast last night, also showed that liquids containing plutoniumand uranium had been stored for years in plastic bottles.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is used in MRI scanners and in sensors detecting smuggled uranium or plutonium.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They produced plutonium for Britain's early nuclear weapons.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Laws can be changed and that particular one is under review; but a world fuelled by plutonium seems likely to be a significantly more dangerous place.
Oliver Morton Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet (2007)
Word lists with
plutonium
chemical
In other languages
plutonium
British English: plutonium NOUN
Plutonium is a radioactive element used especially in nuclear weapons and as a fuel in nuclear power stations.