Half-Life of Plutonium

Plutonium is rarely found in nature. Plutonium is the most economically important of the trans-uranic elements. Plutonium-239 readily undergoes fission, and it is used for nuclear weapons and for energy. And it was used to create the atomic bombs.


Energy from Fission

The sum of the masses of these fragments is less than the original mass. This 'missing' mass (about 0.1 percent of the original mass) has been converted into energy according to Einstein's equation.
Fission can occur when a nucleus of a heavy atom captures a neutron, or it can happen spontaneously.

Half-life happens when plutonium decays. Many factors play into producing the decaying process. Usually, the half-life is a very, very long time, hundreds of thousands of years.

Half-life essentially means that after that many years, you will have half as much of the original product.  So it doesn’t mean that it will only last twice that length because after that many years again, you have half again. This means, it could exist almost 'forever.'


I'm not a chemist. Why should I be even slightly interested in Half-Life of Plutonium-239? Well, combined with Coriolis Effect, one nuclear explosion can affect the entire earth for millennium to come.

Some good news?

Somebody asked Smithsonian a related question. And here's the Q. & A. reprint in its entirety.

Q. Why could Hiroshima and Nagasaki be rebuilt so soon after they were destroyed by the A-bomb? Wouldn't the fallout remain unsafe for years? 

A. Those two bombs were deliberately exploded high in the air, as a result, much of the radioactive debris was carried aloft and dispersed by the mushroom cloud. 

Moreover, the amount of fissionable material in both bombs was only about two pounds. In contrast, the meltdown at Chernobyl involved some two tons of material released at ground level with no mechanism for rapid dispersal. 

Today, Hiroshima and Nagasaki have background radiation levels well within the world average. 

Tom Crouch, curator, aeronautics, National Air and Space Museum


So, that's why the A-bomb that was dropped 600 feet above ground Hiroshima was called a Little Boy?

So, it was a 'good' thing that the bomb didn't hit the ground?

So, what happened to the debris being dispersed throughout the world? Did this debris dispersion cause the rate of cancers throughout the world to rise?

So, the 'world average' means not only Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the entire world is safe?

So, is this why my Traditional Chinese Medicine Master told us not to walk outdoors when the wind is blowing?

With more countries getting 'nuclear weapon ready,' can each country be more conscious of the global effects such weaponry could have on humanity?

And the similar questions continue.....