o understand theadvantages to using plutonium and that the disadvantages are not ascatastrophic as they seem. With the turn of the century on its way, thereemergence of plutonium production will need to be a reality for us tocontinue our way of life. In 1941, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, discoveredsomething that would change our planet forever. The man's name, Glenn T.Seaborg, and what did he discover?, the element plutonium.(ref. 10)Plutonium, or Pu #94 on the periodic table, is one of the most unstableelements on the earth. It is formed when Uranium 235, another highlyunstable element, absorbs a neutron. Plutonium is a silvery-white metalthat has a very high density of 19.816 g/cm3.(ref. 10 ) It has beenrarely found in the earth's crust but the majority of the substance has tobe produced in the cores of nuclear reactors. Plutonium can be found fifteen different forms, or isotopes and their massnumber can range from 232-246.(ref. 13) Radionuclide batteries used inpacemakers use Pu-238, while Pu-239 is used in reactors and for Nuclearweapons.(ref. 13) This paper will focus on the isotopes Pu-238 and Pu-239. Plutonium can be very advantageous for the United States. It can be usedfor several purposes. The three major advantages to using this element arefor an energy source, power for nuclear propulsion in space explorationand thermo-electric generators in cardiac pacemakers. The first use for plutonium, nuclear power, is obviously the mostbeneficial use. Plutonium 239 can be used to power nuclear reactors. Theaverage nuclear reactor contains about 325 kilograms of plutonium withinits uranium fuel.(ref. 7) This complements the uranium fission process.With the continually decreasing supply of coal and oil to power ournation, we need a substitute to complement our energy needs and right nowthe best replacement is that of nuclear energy.(ref. 7) At the momentthere are one hundred and ten nuclear power plants in th...
