Plutonium

1 The name of the element I researched was Plutonium. The symbol for this element is PU and its atomic number is 94. The name is derived from the planet Pluto. Plutonite is a silvery radioactive metal in the actinide series. The actinide series are radioactive metals, with the atomic numbers 89 through 103. All these members of the actinide series have chemical properties similar to actinium. The elements in this series with atomic numbers greater than 92 are the …

…and plutonium-239. Because plutonium is a radioactive element, it constantly changes or "decays." In this decay process, energy is released and a new product is formed. The energy released is called radiation. When plutonium decays, it divides into two parts: a small part that we call "alpha" radiation and the remainder, different from original plutonium, called the daughter. The daughter is also radioactive, and it, too, continues to decay until a nonradioactive daughter is formed.