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How is Plutonium formed into a sphere ?
When raw Plutonium billets have been produced in a reactor how exactly are they "melted" and then re-formed into hemispheres for use in a nuclear weapon.
Is a chemical used, or is heat applied ?
1 Answer
- Robert JLv 77 years ago
Raw plutonium is formed in a mix of other elements / isotopes (eg Uranium), as far as I understand it.
It's separated out using a process called purex, which is also used for re-processing nuclear fuel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PUREX
Plutonium is too unstable to be used in the gun style weapon (the two hemispheres type), it's used in other forms such as an implosion device.
It is melted and cast, but everything to do with processing it must be done under extremely well controlled conditions as the stuff reacts chemically with air, water and many other elements.
