plutonium-239

atomic bomb

Fission-triggered mass destruction device

• nuclear weaponExplosive using atomic fission
• fission bombWeapon splitting heavy atoms
• Fat ManImplosion-type nuclear device

Nagasaki · Trinity test · implosion · critical mass · chain reaction · warhead · detonation · mushroom cloud · fallout · Manhattan Project

fissile

Able to split apart

• half-lifePeriod for fifty-percent reduction
• alpha decayEmission of helium nuclei
• transuranicHeavier than element 92

actinide · uranium-238 · mass number · radioactive decay · beta decay · nuclear physics · weapons-grade · critical mass

breeder reactor

Reactor producing fissile material

• nuclear fuelRadioactive reactor feedstock
• fuel rodReactor's fissionable material tube
• fissionNuclear breakup releasing energy

neutron · chain reaction · power plant · reprocessing · spent fuel · control rod · coolant · criticality · power generation · electricity

alpha particles

Emitted helium nuclei

• radiationEnergy propagation through space
• decayGradual organic breakdown
• gamma raysHighest-frequency electromagnetic radiation

ionizing radiation · Geiger counter · dosimeter · half-life · contamination · exposure · shielding · lead · glove box · dose

toxic

Capable of causing harm

• carcinogenicCauses cancer
• inhalationTaking breath in
• lung cancerMalignant growth in chest

bioaccumulation · nuclear waste · disposal · storage · containment · safety protocols · environmental contamination · Hanford · cleanup · long-lived

• Isotopescarbon-12, carbon-13, carbon-14, hydrogen-1, helium-3
• Manhattan ProjectManhattan Project, Los Alamos, Trinity test, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer
• nuclear physicsnuclear energy, fission, nuclear fission, neutron, proton
• nuclear fueluranium, uranium enrichment, enriched uranium, fuel rods, depleted uranium
• Nuclear Materialsuranium, enriched uranium, uranium-235, U-235, weapons-grade uranium
• radioactive materialsuranium, radium, thorium, radon, polonium