User talk:Jawknee24

Plutonium Isotopes
This is regarding my recent edit of the Plutonium Isotopes page specific to the Production and uses of Pu-242: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_plutonium#Production_and_uses

The previous text read:

Pu-242 has a particularly low cross section for thermal neutron capture; and it takes four neutron absorptions to become another fissile isotope (either curium-245 or Pu-241) and fission. (Italics mine)

However, both isotopes require 3 neutron captures. In addition, the text subsequently refers to an additional "fourth" neutron.

The transitions from Pu-242 as noted are: (Using the diagram on the same page)

Pu-242  +n  &rarr;  Pu-243   (neutron 1) Pu-243 -β &rarr; Am-243 Am-243 +n  &rarr;  Am-244 (neutron 2) Am-244 -β &rarr; Cm-244 Cm-244 +n &rarr; Cm-245 (neutron 3)  (fissile)

Or the last step above replaced with:

Cm-244 -α &rarr; Pu-240 Pu-240 +n &rarr; Pu-241 (neutron 3)  (fissile)

It's only after this that the "fourth" neutron is absorbed giving:

Cm-245 +n &rarr; Cm-246 or Pu-241 +n  &rarr;  Pu-242

Thus the 4th neutron beyond becoming fissile.

Also, earlier in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_plutonium#Notable_Isotopes

is this:

Plutonium-242 is not fissile, not very fertile (requiring 3 more neutron captures to become fissile), ...

Jawknee24 (talk) 10:52, 14 July 2017 (UTC)