134-659: Since the mid 1980s, the largest source of electricity in France has been nuclear power , with a generation of 379.5 TWh in 2019 and a total electricity production of 537.7 TWh . In 2018, the nuclear share was 71.67%, the highest percentage in the world. Since June 2020, it has 56 operable reactors totalling 61,370 MWe , one under construction (1630 MWe), and 14 shut down or in decommissioning (5,549 MWe). In May 2022, EDF reported that twelve reactors were shut down and being inspected for stress corrosion, requiring EDF to adjust its French nuclear output estimate for 2022 to 280–300 TWh;
268-579: A critical mass . During the early stages of research, animals were used to study the effects of radioactive substances on health. These studies began in 1944 at the University of California at Berkeley's Radiation Laboratory and were conducted by Joseph G. Hamilton. Hamilton was looking to answer questions about how plutonium would vary in the body depending on exposure mode (oral ingestion, inhalation, absorption through skin), retention rates, and how plutonium would be fixed in tissues and distributed among
402-422: A fertile material . Twenty-two radioisotopes of plutonium have been characterized, from Pu to Pu. The longest-lived are Pu, with a half-life of 80.8 million years; Pu, with a half-life of 373,300 years; and Pu, with a half-life of 24,110 years. All other isotopes have half-lives of less than 7,000 years. This element also has eight metastable states , though all have half-lives less than
536-458: A multiplication factor (k eff ) larger than one, which means that if the metal is present in sufficient quantity and with an appropriate geometry (e.g., a sphere of sufficient size), it can form a critical mass . During fission, a fraction of the nuclear binding energy , which holds a nucleus together, is released as a large amount of electromagnetic and kinetic energy (much of the latter being quickly converted to thermal energy). Fission of
670-450: A nuclear chain reaction , leading to applications in nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors . Plutonium-240 has a high rate of spontaneous fission , raising the neutron flux of any sample containing it. The presence of plutonium-240 limits a plutonium sample's usability for weapons or its quality as reactor fuel, and the percentage of plutonium-240 determines its grade ( weapons-grade , fuel-grade, or reactor-grade). Plutonium-238 has
804-594: A petition as a response, known as the Appeal of the 400 after the 400 scientists who initially signed it. The reason that the Messmer Plan was enacted without public or parliamentary debate was that there was no tradition to do that with highly-technological and strategically-important decisions in the governments of France and the parliament did not have a scientific commission with sufficient technical means to handle such scientific and strategic decisions, just like
938-414: A vacuum or an inert atmosphere to avoid reaction with air. At 135 °C the metal will ignite in air and will explode if placed in carbon tetrachloride . Plutonium is a reactive metal. In moist air or moist argon , the metal oxidizes rapidly, producing a mixture of oxides and hydrides . If the metal is exposed long enough to a limited amount of water vapor, a powdery surface coating of PuO 2
1072-565: A cheaper and simpler Franco-Japanese design, the Atmea for which the design will be completed by 2013, or the already operating Franco-Chinese design, the CPR-1000 ." In July 2018, EDF further delayed fuel loading to Q4 2019 and increased the project's cost estimate by a further €400 million (US$ 467.1 million). Startup is now scheduled to occur no earlier than Q2 2020 and EDF now estimates project costs at €10.9 billion (US$ 12.75 billion), three times
1206-466: A conjunction of several factors. 12 reactors out of 56 were out for maintenance (delays due in part to coronavirus measures) and therefore during that day, the nuclear production was at ~51 GW despite an installed capacity of 61,370 GW. Wind power had a low production (~ 1 GW despite 17 GW of installed capacity). Finally, the price of electricity was high everywhere in Europe (~€100 /MWh, in comparison
1340-424: A deep geological repository for high-level waste can be constructed. A repository for low-level and short-lived intermediate-level nuclear waste is already operational. The European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) at Flamanville , the first new nuclear reactor to be built in France in 15 years, as of 2012 was expected to open in 2016 instead of the original starting date of 2012, with costs climbing to €8.5bn instead of
1474-508: A half-life of 87.7 years and emits alpha particles . It is a heat source in radioisotope thermoelectric generators , which are used to power some spacecraft . Plutonium isotopes are expensive and inconvenient to separate, so particular isotopes are usually manufactured in specialized reactors. Producing plutonium in useful quantities for the first time was a major part of the Manhattan Project during World War II that developed
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#17327823605841608-521: A higher price band to finance new nuclear builds to replace older reactors, for example Francois Dos Santos of the EDF central works council suggested a €47-53/MWh price band. EDF has a programme, named Grand Carénage and costed at €49.4 billion, to life extend by 2025 nearly all French power reactors from 40 to 50 years lifetime. These have been approved by regulatory body ASN in February 2021. Drawing such
1742-431: A kilogram of plutonium-239 can produce an explosion equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT (88,000 GJ ). It is this energy that makes plutonium-239 useful in nuclear weapons and reactors . The presence of the isotope plutonium-240 in a sample limits its nuclear bomb potential, as Pu has a relatively high spontaneous fission rate (~440 fissions per second per gram; over 1,000 neutrons per second per gram), raising
1876-496: A large percentage of overall electrical production from nuclear power is unique to France. This reliance has resulted in certain necessary deviations from the standard design and function of other nuclear power programs. For instance, in order to meet changing demand throughout the day, some plants must work as peaking power plants , whereas most nuclear plants in the world operate as base-load plants , and allow other fossil or hydro units to adjust to demand. Nuclear power in France has
2010-463: A large range of temperatures (over 2,500 kelvin wide) at which plutonium is liquid, but this range is neither the greatest among all actinides nor among all metals, with neptunium theorized to have the greatest range in both instances. The low melting point as well as the reactivity of the native metal compared to the oxide leads to plutonium oxides being a preferred form for applications such as nuclear fission reactor fuel ( MOX-fuel ). Alpha decay ,
2144-426: A limited pressure range. These allotropes, which are different structural modifications or forms of an element, have very similar internal energies but significantly varying densities and crystal structures . This makes plutonium very sensitive to changes in temperature, pressure, or chemistry, and allows for dramatic volume changes following phase transitions from one allotropic form to another. The densities of
2278-530: A more advanced design in the form of the ASTRID reactor was finally abandoned in September 2019. The PWR plants were all developed by Framatome (now Areva ) from the initial Westinghouse design. All currently operating PWR plants are of three design variations, having output powers of 900 MWe , 1300 MWe, and 1450 MWe. The repeated use of these standard variants of a design has afforded France
2412-454: A reduction mechanism similar to FeO 4 , PuO 4 can be stabilized in alkaline solutions and chloroform . Metallic plutonium is produced by reacting plutonium tetrafluoride with barium , calcium or lithium at 1200 °C. Metallic plutonium is attacked by acids , oxygen , and steam but not by alkalis and dissolves easily in concentrated hydrochloric , hydroiodic and perchloric acids . Molten metal must be kept in
2546-493: A relatively short half-life, U decays to Np, which decays into Pu. Finally, exceedingly small amounts of plutonium-238, attributed to the extremely rare double beta decay of uranium-238, have been found in natural uranium samples. Due to its relatively long half-life of about 80 million years, it was suggested that plutonium-244 occurs naturally as a primordial nuclide , but early reports of its detection could not be confirmed. Based on its likely initial abundance in
2680-507: A second. Pu has been found in interstellar space and it has the longest half-life of any non-primordial radioisotope. The main decay modes of isotopes with mass numbers lower than the most stable isotope, Pu, are spontaneous fission and alpha emission , mostly forming uranium (92 protons ) and neptunium (93 protons) isotopes as decay products (neglecting the wide range of daughter nuclei created by fission processes). The main decay mode for isotopes heavier than Pu, along with Pu and Pu,
2814-410: A total capacity factor of around 77%, which is low compared to nuclear power plants in other countries due to load following. Fleet availability has been declining in recent years, averaging approximately 72% over the 2020-2021 operating years. This is quite low compared to other, less dominant nuclear plant fleets and suggests the operating regime has had adverse long-term impacts on the operability of
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#17327823605842948-505: A total installed capacity of 132,500 MW in 2019. France ranked 5th in terms of installed capacity after Spain (11,065 MW), UK (13,616 MW), Italy (22,666 MW) and Germany (45,784 MW).The average load factor is estimated at 13.7%. The government's target is to reach between 18,200 MW and 20,200 MW of installed capacity by 2023. France's largest solar park is the Cestas Solar Park near Bordeaux which has been commissioned
3082-399: Is beta emission , forming americium isotopes (95 protons). Plutonium-241 is the parent isotope of the neptunium series , decaying to americium-241 via beta emission. Plutonium-238 and 239 are the most widely synthesized isotopes. Pu is synthesized via the following reaction using uranium (U) and neutrons (n) via beta decay (β ) with neptunium (Np) as an intermediate: Neutrons from
3216-490: Is plutonocene . Computational chemistry methods indicate an enhanced covalent character in the plutonium-ligand bonding. Powders of plutonium, its hydrides and certain oxides like Pu 2 O 3 are pyrophoric , meaning they can ignite spontaneously at ambient temperature and are therefore handled in an inert, dry atmosphere of nitrogen or argon. Bulk plutonium ignites only when heated above 400 °C. Pu 2 O 3 spontaneously heats up and transforms into PuO 2 , which
3350-413: Is 25% and in 2019 hydropower represented 12% of the production in France. In terms of installed capacity, France ranked 2nd in Europe after Norway (32 GW ) and 10th in the world, China being the leader with 356 GW of hydropower installed in 2019. Installed wind power in France was 17,391 MW at the end of 2020, representing 13% of the overall installed capacity of the country. The share of wind power
3484-485: Is a radioactive actinide metal whose isotope , plutonium-239 , is one of the three primary fissile isotopes ( uranium-233 and uranium-235 are the other two); plutonium-241 is also highly fissile. To be considered fissile, an isotope's atomic nucleus must be able to break apart or fission when struck by a slow moving neutron and to release enough additional neutrons to sustain the nuclear chain reaction by splitting further nuclei. Pure plutonium-239 may have
3618-423: Is charged of controlling compliance of facilities with laws and regulations. Nuclear companies include EdF and Areva . Électricité de France (EdF) is the main electricity producer. Eurodif is the uranium enrichment plant. Areva NC (France) and Rio Tinto (UK) are the top uranium companies of the world. In 2010, as part of the progressive liberalisation of the energy market under EU directives , France agreed
3752-429: Is formed. Also formed is plutonium hydride but an excess of water vapor forms only PuO 2 . Plutonium shows enormous, and reversible, reaction rates with pure hydrogen, forming plutonium hydride . It also reacts readily with oxygen, forming PuO and PuO 2 as well as intermediate oxides; plutonium oxide fills 40% more volume than plutonium metal. The metal reacts with the halogens , giving rise to compounds with
3886-460: Is in its α ( alpha ) form . This allotrope is about as hard and brittle as gray cast iron . When plutonium is alloyed with other metals, the high-temperature δ allotrope is stabilized at room temperature, making it soft and ductile. Unlike most metals, it is not a good conductor of heat or electricity . It has a low melting point (640 °C, 1,184 °F) and an unusually high boiling point (3,228 °C, 5,842 °F). This gives
4020-426: Is likely that Hahn and Strassmann were aware that plutonium-239 should be fissile. However, they did not have a strong neutron source. Element 93 was reported by Hahn and Strassmann, as well as Starke, in 1942. Hahn's group did not pursue element 94, likely because they were discouraged by McMillan and Abelson's lack of success in isolating it when they had first found element 93. However, since Hahn's group had access to
4154-435: Is responsible for directional covalent bonds in molecules and complexes of plutonium. Plutonium can form alloys and intermediate compounds with most other metals. Exceptions include lithium, sodium , potassium , rubidium and caesium of the alkali metals ; and magnesium , calcium, strontium , and barium of the alkaline earth metals ; and europium and ytterbium of the rare earth metals . Partial exceptions include
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4288-414: Is roughly as strong and malleable as aluminium. In fission weapons, the explosive shock waves used to compress a plutonium core will also cause a transition from the usual δ phase plutonium to the denser α form, significantly helping to achieve supercriticality . The ε phase, the highest temperature solid allotrope, exhibits anomalously high atomic self-diffusion compared to other elements. Plutonium
4422-402: Is stable in dry air, but reacts with water vapor when heated. Crucibles used to contain plutonium need to be able to withstand its strongly reducing properties. Refractory metals such as tantalum and tungsten along with the more stable oxides, borides , carbides , nitrides and silicides can tolerate this. Melting in an electric arc furnace can be used to produce small ingots of
4556-514: Is the 12th cheapest amongst the 28 member European Union and the second-cheapest to industrial consumers. The actual cost of generating electricity by nuclear power is not published by EDF or the French government but is estimated to be between €59/MWh and €83/MWh. EDF said its third-generation nuclear reactor EPR project at its Flamanville, northern France, plant will be delayed until 2016, due to "both structural and economic reasons," which will bring
4690-584: Is the element with the highest atomic number known to occur in nature. Trace quantities arise in natural uranium deposits when uranium-238 captures neutrons emitted by decay of other uranium-238 atoms. The heavy isotope plutonium-244 has a half-life long enough that extreme trace quantities should have survived primordially (from the Earth's formation) to the present, but so far experiments have not yet been sensitive enough to detect it. Both plutonium-239 and plutonium-241 are fissile , meaning they can sustain
4824-401: Is unrealistic, postponing the reduction to 2030 or 2035. In 2016, following a discovery at Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant , about 400 large steel forgings manufactured by Le Creusot Forge since 1965 were found to have carbon-content irregularities that weakened the steel. A widespread programme of reactor checks was started involving a progressive programme of reactor shutdowns, continued over
4958-544: Is unusual for metals. This trend continues down to 100 K , below which resistivity rapidly decreases for fresh samples. Resistivity then begins to increase with time at around 20 K due to radiation damage, with the rate dictated by the isotopic composition of the sample. Because of self-irradiation, a sample of plutonium fatigues throughout its crystal structure, meaning the ordered arrangement of its atoms becomes disrupted by radiation with time. Self-irradiation can also lead to annealing which counteracts some of
5092-404: Is used in U.S. Navy weapons stored near ship and submarine crews, due to its lower radioactivity. Plutonium-238 is not fissile but can undergo nuclear fission easily with fast neutrons as well as alpha decay. All plutonium isotopes can be "bred" into fissile material with one or more neutron absorptions , whether followed by beta decay or not. This makes non-fissile isotopes of plutonium
5226-429: Is usually listed as watt/kilogram, or milliwatt/gram. In larger pieces of plutonium (e.g. a weapon pit) and inadequate heat removal the resulting self-heating may be significant. At room temperature, pure plutonium is silvery in color but gains a tarnish when oxidized. The element displays four common ionic oxidation states in aqueous solution and one rare one: The color shown by plutonium solutions depends on both
5360-500: The Wall Street Journal characterised the problem as a "decades long coverup of manufacturing problems", with Areva executives acknowledging that Le Creusot had been falsifying documents. The Le Creusot forge was out of operation from December 2015 to January 2018 while improvements to process controls, the quality management system, organisation and safety culture were made. In November 2018, President Macron announced
5494-538: The 1973 oil crisis according to the Messmer plan named for then prime minister Pierre Messmer . This was based on projections that large amounts of electric power would be required. Hindsight showed that too much nuclear power capacity was installed, and this led to relatively low production – a low average load factor of 61% by 1988 due to load following generation , and high electricity exports. France exported 38 TWh of electricity to its neighbours in 2017. However,
Nuclear power in France - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-404: The 2012 presidential election , it was thought that there might be a partial nuclear phaseout in France. This followed a national debate in the run-up to the election, with President Nicolas Sarkozy backing nuclear power and François Hollande proposing a cut in nuclear power's electricity contribution by more than a third by 2025. It seemed certain that Hollande would at least order the closure of
5762-547: The Accès régulé à l'électricité nucléaire historique (ARENH) regulations that allowed third party suppliers access up to about a quarter of France's pre-2011 nuclear generation capacity, at a fixed price of €42/MWh from 1 July 2011 until 31 December 2025. France has the largest share of electricity from nuclear power in the world. According to the IEA 70.6% of its domestic electricity was generated by nuclear power in 2020. The second
5896-634: The Chinon reactors in Avoine from 1962. As a direct result of the 1973 oil crisis , on 6 March 1974 Prime Minister Pierre Messmer announced what became known as the 'Messmer Plan', a hugely ambitious nuclear power program aimed at generating most of France's electricity from nuclear power. At the time of the oil crisis most of France's electricity came from foreign oil. Nuclear power allowed France to compensate for its lack of indigenous energy resources by applying its strengths in heavy engineering. The situation
6030-464: The Cigar Lake Mine uranium deposit ranges from 2.4 × 10 to 44 × 10 . These trace amounts of Pu originate in the following fashion: on rare occasions, U undergoes spontaneous fission, and in the process, the nucleus emits one or two free neutrons with some kinetic energy. When one of these neutrons strikes the nucleus of another U atom, it is absorbed by the atom, which becomes U. With
6164-472: The Cold War is a nuclear-proliferation and environmental concern. Other sources of plutonium in the environment are fallout from many above-ground nuclear tests, which are now banned . Plutonium, like most metals, has a bright silvery appearance at first, much like nickel , but it oxidizes very quickly to a dull gray, though yellow and olive green are also reported. At room temperature plutonium
6298-535: The EPR (third-generation nuclear reactor) . In 2010, as part of the progressive liberalisation of the energy market under EU directives , France agreed the Accès régulé à l'électricité nucléaire historique (ARENH) regulations that allowed third party suppliers access up to about a quarter of France's pre-2011 nuclear generation capacity, at a fixed price of €42/MWh from 1 July 2011 until 31 December 2025. As of 2015, France's household electricity price, excluding taxation,
6432-798: The Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant by 2017 where there has been an ongoing closure campaign due to concerns about seismic activity and flooding. Active efforts by the French government to market the EPR have been hampered by cost overruns, delays, and competition from other nations, such as South Korea , which offer simpler, cheaper reactors. In 2015, the National Assembly voted that by 2025 only 50% of France's energy will be produced by nuclear plants. Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot noted in November 2017 that this goal
6566-459: The Manhattan Project , for developing an atomic bomb. The three primary research and production sites of the project were the plutonium production facility at what is now the Hanford Site ; the uranium enrichment facilities at Oak Ridge, Tennessee ; and the weapons research and design lab, now known as Los Alamos National Laboratory , LANL. The first production reactor that made Pu was
6700-727: The Suez Crisis and the diplomatic tension with both the USSR and the United States, French president René Coty decided on the creation of the C.S.E.M. in what was then French Sahara , a new nuclear testing facility replacing the CIEES testing facility. See France and nuclear weapons . The first nuclear power plants in France were three UNGG reactors at the Marcoule Nuclear Site between 1956 and 1960, followed by
6834-671: The capacity factor is low by world standards, usually in the high seventies as a percentage, which is not an ideal economic situation for nuclear plants. In terms of installed capacity and produced power in 2013 France was the second largest producer of nuclear energy in the world behind the United States . The installed nuclear capacity was 63.1 GW, and power production was 403.7 TWh. France reprocesses its nuclear waste to retrieve plutonium and uranium for use as additional fuel. Fission products are stored in La Hague facility until
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#17327823605846968-502: The r-process in supernovae and colliding neutron stars ; when nuclei are ejected from these events at high speed to reach Earth, Pu alone among transuranic nuclides has a long enough half-life to survive the journey, and hence tiny traces of live interstellar Pu have been found in the deep sea floor. Because Pu also occurs in the decay chain of Pu, it must thus also be present in secular equilibrium , albeit in even tinier quantities. Minute traces of plutonium are usually found in
7102-497: The 1st December 2015 with a capacity of 300 MW. This solar park is owned by Neoen .The second largest completed solar park is the 115 MW Toul-Rosières Solar Park owned by EDF Renewables , a subsidiary of EDF Group . Capacity [MW] [GWh] France imported 22 megatonnes (Mt) of oil products for all purposes in 2014, making it Europe's largest, and the world's 4th largest net-importer of fossil oil, behind Japan (29 Mt), Singapore (26 Mt), and Indonesia (23 Mt). However,
7236-627: The 3 September 2022, amid energy uncertainties arising from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Energy Transition Minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, announced that EDF was committed to restarting all reactors in the coming winter. In 2023, during a presidential visit to China , France renewed a nuclear co-operation agreement with China, and EDF renewed its 2007 partnership contract with China General Nuclear Power Group which includes development, construction and operation of nuclear plants. After scheduled maintenance during
7370-429: The 50% nuclear power reduction target is being delayed to 2035, and would involve closing fourteen 900 MWe reactors. The two oldest reactors, units 1 and 2 at Fessenheim , were closed in 2020. EDF is planning an investment programme, called Grand Carénage , to extend reactor lifespans to 50 years, to be largely completed by 2025. In 2020, Energy Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the government would not decide on
7504-618: The 58 reactors will have been operating for over 40 years. The court expects EDF's projected investment programme in existing plant, including post Fukushima safety improvements, will add between 9.5% and 14.5% to generation costs, taking costs to between 37.9 and 54.2 EUR/MWh . Generation costs from the new Flamanville European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) are estimated to be at least in the 70-to-90 EUR/MWh range, depending on construction outcome. Academics at Paris Dauphine University forecast that domestic electricity prices would rise by about 30% by 2020. Following François Hollande 's victory in
7638-469: The 6d and 5f subshells is very low. The size of the 5f shell is just enough to allow the electrons to form bonds within the lattice, on the very boundary between localized and bonding behavior. The proximity of energy levels leads to multiple low-energy electron configurations with near equal energy levels. This leads to competing 5f 7s and 5f 6d 7s configurations, which causes the complexity of its chemical behavior. The highly directional nature of 5f orbitals
7772-525: The French "are 'hesitant' about nuclear energy while a third are in favor and 17 percent are against, according to a survey by pollster Ifop published November 13". In February 2012, President Sarkozy decided to extend the life of existing nuclear reactors beyond 40 years, following the Court of Audit decision that that would be the best option, for new nuclear capacity or other forms of energy would be more costly and available too late. Within ten years 22 out of
7906-402: The French government and its electricity is sold to the government. According to Al Gore the degree of the government subsidy is difficult to ascertain because of a lack of transparencies in the finances of the operation. The Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique is the national research body for nuclear power in France, providing RnD and advice to exploiters. The Autorité de sûreté nucléaire
8040-548: The French government. The electricity sector in France will evolve in the coming years partly based on objectives defined by the government in its Strategy for Energy and Climate and its National Low Carbon Strategy. In 2008 consumption of electricity was on average 8,233 kWh/person. This corresponded to 110% of the EU15 average (7,409 kWh/person) and 91% of the OECD average (8,991 kWh/person). French gross production of electricity
8174-541: The Solar System, present experiments as of 2022 are likely about an order of magnitude away from detecting live primordial Pu. However, its long half-life ensured its circulation across the solar system before its extinction , and indeed, evidence of the spontaneous fission of extinct Pu has been found in meteorites. The former presence of Pu in the early Solar System has been confirmed, since it manifests itself today as an excess of its daughters, either Th (from
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#17327823605848308-484: The X-10 reactor. Information from CP-1 was also useful to Met Lab scientists designing the water-cooled plutonium production reactors for Hanford. Construction at the site began in mid-1943. In November 1943 some plutonium trifluoride was reduced to create the first sample of plutonium metal: a few micrograms of metallic beads. Enough plutonium was produced to make it the first synthetically made element to be visible with
8442-490: The advantage of avoiding dealing directly with the highly reactive plutonium metal. Trace amounts of plutonium-238, plutonium-239, plutonium-240, and plutonium-244 can be found in nature. Small traces of plutonium-239, a few parts per trillion , and its decay products are naturally found in some concentrated ores of uranium, such as the natural nuclear fission reactor in Oklo , Gabon . The ratio of plutonium-239 to uranium at
8576-416: The alpha decay pathway) or xenon isotopes (from its spontaneous fission ). The latter are generally more useful, because the chemistries of thorium and plutonium are rather similar (both are predominantly tetravalent) and hence an excess of thorium would not be strong evidence that some of it was formed as a plutonium daughter. Pu has the longest half-life of all transuranic nuclides and is produced only in
8710-460: The average price of Electricity in France was €40.1 /MWh in November 2020 ), sign of a tension on the electricity production everywhere in Europe, meaning that the country could less rely on import from neighboring countries. In 2019, France exported a total of 57 TWh of electricity with its neighbouring countries. Since 1990, each year, France roughly exports 10% of its annual production. Its annual exchange sold has always remained positive. France
8844-399: The background neutron levels and thus increasing the risk of predetonation . Plutonium is identified as either weapons-grade , fuel-grade, or reactor-grade based on the percentage of Pu that it contains. Weapons-grade plutonium contains less than 7% Pu. Fuel-grade plutonium contains 7%–19%, and power reactor-grade contains 19% or more Pu. Supergrade plutonium , with less than 4% of Pu,
8978-504: The complicated phase diagram are not entirely understood. The α form has a low-symmetry monoclinic structure, hence its brittleness, strength, compressibility, and poor thermal conductivity. Plutonium in the δ ( delta ) form normally exists in the 310 °C to 452 °C range but is stable at room temperature when alloyed with a small percentage of gallium , aluminium , or cerium , enhancing workability and allowing it to be welded . The δ form has more typical metallic character, and
9112-430: The construction of any new reactors until Flamanville 3 started operation after 2022. In October 2021 Macron announced plans for France to become a leader in low-carbon energy production using small modular reactors and green hydrogen . In October 2021 French grid operator RTE plans for construction of six new EPR reactors so that by 2050 France maintains 50 GW in low-carbon nuclear power. This has been described as
9246-413: The construction of the heavily delayed and nearly four times over-budget Flamanville 3 EPR development, started by Areva in 2007, which assessed it as largely a project management and skills failure. The Finance Minister demanded EDF present within a month an action plan for the project, calling it "a failure for the entire French nuclear industry". In 2020, the French government announced plans to change
9380-596: The country still becomes a net importer of electricity when demand exceeds supply, such as in cases of very inclement weather, as in February 2012 when a cold snap , combined with French reliance on electric heating, led it to import large amounts of electricity from Germany. As of December 2023, according to data from Ember and the Energy Institute as processed by Our World in Data , France generates roughly two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear power, well above
9514-558: The country's nuclear power plants. EDF is substantially owned by the French government, with around 85% of EDF shares in government hands. 78.9% of Areva shares are owned by the French public sector company CEA and are therefore in public ownership. EDF remains heavily in debt. Its profitability suffered during the recession which began in 2008. It made €3.9 billion in 2009, which fell to €1.02 billion in 2010, with provisions set aside amounting to €2.9 billion. The Nuclear industry has been accused of significant cost overruns and failing to cover
9648-579: The credit rating of EDF citing the technical issues at its nuclear power plants. In July 2022 the French government announced its plans to fully nationalize EDF. To meet demand, EDF had to buy electricity on the European market at high prices, costing an estimated € 29 billion by June 2023. As of early September 2022, 32 of France's 56 nuclear reactors were shut down due to maintenance or technical problems. In 2022, Europe's driest summer in 500 years had serious consequences for power plant cooling systems, as
9782-427: The different allotropes vary from 16.00 g/cm to 19.86 g/cm . The presence of these many allotropes makes machining plutonium very difficult, as it changes state very readily. For example, the α form exists at room temperature in unalloyed plutonium. It has machining characteristics similar to cast iron but changes to the plastic and malleable β ( beta ) form at slightly higher temperatures. The reasons for
9916-501: The drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling. During 2023, stress corrosion cracking was found in some straight pipe sections; previously it had only been found in pipe with bends so subject to additional stress form thermal stratification as fluids flowed through bends. One crack was to a depth of 23 mm in a wall thickness of 27 mm. Électricité de France (EDF) – the country's main electricity generation and distribution company – manages
10050-580: The electricity selling price was too high. The second round of bidding was awarded in 2014 to the Areva / GDF Suez Consortium for the construction of two wind farms (Yeu-Noirmoutier & Dieppe / Le Tréport ) and a total installed capacity of 1 GW. Finally, a third round started in 2016 with the site of Dunkirk being awarded in 2019 the consortium EDF Energies Nouvelles , Innogy and Enbridge . France had 10571 MW of photovoltaics installed capacity in 2019, and generated 10,569 GWh. The European Union had
10184-460: The estimate of the impact of the decrease in output on the Group's EBITDA for 2022 was assessed to be −€18.5 billion. Électricité de France (EDF) – the country's main electricity generation and distribution company – manages the country's 56 power reactors . EDF is fully owned by the French government. Nuclear power was introduced in large quantities in France following
10318-399: The expectation of checks and repairs to be completed, the 2023 French nuclear output estimate was not changed (300–330 TWh). Considering the overall control and repair program, nuclear generation for 2024 may be impacted. Electricity production in 2022 was 279 TWh, with 300–330 TWh still forecast for 2023 as of June 2023. On 21 February 2022, S&P Global Ratings and Moody's downgraded
10452-523: The fastest and most certain path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In January 2022, junior environment minister Bérangère Abba said that plans for new nuclear EPR 2 reactors, to be operational between 2035 and 2037, should be submitted around 2023. The decision was accelerated by the impact of 2021 global energy crisis . In February 2022 Macron added that the plan includes construction of 14 new large nuclear reactors and extension of life of existing reactors deemed safe and suitable beyond 50 years. On
10586-440: The fatigue effects as temperature increases above 100 K. Unlike most materials, plutonium increases in density when it melts, by 2.5%, but the liquid metal exhibits a linear decrease in density with temperature. Near the melting point, the liquid plutonium has very high viscosity and surface tension compared to other metals. Plutonium normally has six allotropes and forms a seventh (zeta, ζ) at high temperature within
10720-594: The first atomic bombs. The Fat Man bombs used in the Trinity nuclear test in July 1945, and in the bombing of Nagasaki in August 1945, had plutonium cores . Human radiation experiments studying plutonium were conducted without informed consent , and several criticality accidents , some lethal, occurred after the war. Disposal of plutonium waste from nuclear power plants and dismantled nuclear weapons built during
10854-504: The first self-sustaining chain reaction in a graphite and uranium pile known as CP-1 . Using theoretical information garnered from the operation of CP-1, DuPont constructed an air-cooled experimental production reactor, known as X-10 , and a pilot chemical separation facility at Oak Ridge. The separation facility, using methods developed by Glenn T. Seaborg and a team of researchers at the Met Lab, removed plutonium from uranium irradiated in
10988-568: The first transuranic element neptunium after the planet Neptune , and suggested that element 94, being the next element in the series, be named for what was then considered the next planet, Pluto . Nicholas Kemmer of the Cambridge team independently proposed the same name, based on the same reasoning as the Berkeley team. Seaborg originally considered the name "plutium", but later thought that it did not sound as good as "plutonium". He chose
11122-491: The fission of uranium-235 are captured by uranium-238 nuclei to form uranium-239; a beta decay converts a neutron into a proton to form neptunium-239 (half-life 2.36 days) and another beta decay forms plutonium-239. Egon Bretscher working on the British Tube Alloys project predicted this reaction theoretically in 1940. Plutonium-238 is synthesized by bombarding uranium-238 with deuterons (D or H,
11256-572: The fleet. The first eight power reactors in the nation were gas cooled reactor types ( UNGG reactor ), whose development was pioneered by CEA. Coinciding with a uranium enrichment program, EDF developed pressurized water reactor (PWR) technology which eventually became the dominant type. The gas-cooled reactors located at Brennilis , Bugey , Chinon , and Marcoule have all been shut down. All operating plants today are PWRs. The sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor technology development reactors, Phénix and Superphénix , have been shut down. Work on
11390-407: The general formula PuX 3 where X can be F , Cl , Br or I and PuF 4 is also seen. The following oxyhalides are observed: PuOCl, PuOBr and PuOI. It will react with carbon to form PuC , nitrogen to form PuN and silicon to form PuSi 2 . The organometallic chemistry of plutonium complexes is typical for organoactinide species; a characteristic example of an organoplutonium compound
11524-572: The global average of just under 10%. This heavy reliance on nuclear energy allows France to have one of the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity in the world at 85 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour, compared to the global average of 438 grams. France has a long relationship with nuclear power, starting with Henri Becquerel 's discovery of natural radioactivity in the 1890s and continued by famous nuclear scientists such as Pierre and Marie Skłodowska Curie . Before World War II , France had been mainly involved in nuclear research through
11658-562: The greatest degree of nuclear plant standardization in the world. There are a total of 34 of these reactors in operation; most were constructed in the 1970s and the early 1980s. In 2002, they had a uniform review and all were granted a 10-year life extension. With the CP0 and CP1 designs, two reactors share the same machine and command room. With the CP2 design, each reactor has its own machine and command room. Apart from this difference, CP1 and CP2 use
11792-409: The highest percentage portion of any country in the world (78.4% in 2014, also see chart "Electricity production by source" ). Live production and consumption of electricity can be found on the following websites: RTE eco2mix and grid watch . capacity [MW] [TWh] share [%] France's nuclear power plants were installed as a response to the 1973 oil crisis , and are almost entirely owned by
11926-596: The human body due to the 550 atmospheric and underwater nuclear tests that have been carried out, and to a small number of major nuclear accidents . Most atmospheric and underwater nuclear testing was stopped by the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which of the nuclear powers was signed and ratified by the United States, United Kingdom and Soviet Union . France would continue atmospheric nuclear testing until 1974 and China would continue atmospheric nuclear testing until 1980. All subsequent nuclear testing
12060-402: The installed hydro electricity power capacity in France has remained stable at 25 GW and is expected to reach 25.7 GW by 2023. Its annual production however has fluctuated across the years going down to 50.8 TWh in 2011 from up to 77 TWh in 2013 which is a reflection of the use of hydroelectricity as a mean to help balance the gaps between load consumption and production. Its average load factor
12194-416: The largest share of nuclear electricity in the world, and together with renewable energy supplies, this has helped its grid achieve very low carbon intensity. France's electrical grid is part of the synchronous grid of Continental Europe and due to a historical oversupply of nuclear power it is the world's largest net exporter of electricity. The French nuclear power sector is almost entirely owned by
12328-448: The late 1990s, commercial operation since early 2000s. By end of April 2022 it was reported that 28 of France's 56 nuclear reactors were offline. French nuclear energy production has fallen to the lowest level since 1993 and it is expected to fall short by at least 25% compared to usual production levels in the winter of 2022/2023. On 19 May 2022, EDF adjusted its French nuclear output estimate for 2022 between 280 and 300 TWh, and with
12462-504: The layout of the building, especially for the structure which contain the fuel rods and the circuitry. Electricity sector in France The electricity sector in France is dominated by its nuclear power , which accounted for 71.7% of total production in 2018, while renewables and fossil fuels accounted for 21.3% and 7.1%, respectively (compare to 72.3% nuclear, 17.8% renewables and 8.6% fossil fuels in 2016). France has
12596-531: The letters "Pu" as a joke, in reference to the interjection "P U" to indicate an especially disgusting smell, which passed without notice into the periodic table. Alternative names considered by Seaborg and others were "ultimium" or "extremium" because of the erroneous belief that they had found the last possible element on the periodic table . Hahn and Strassmann, and independently Kurt Starke , were at this point also working on transuranic elements in Berlin. It
12730-425: The majority of oil was used by the transportation sector (57% in 2011) and not for electricity generation. On 8 January 2021, RTE (French TSO) expected a high consumption of 88,000 MW and, with a planned production of 88,200 MW, requested its users to reduce their consumptions. In comparison, in 2019 the peak consumption in France was 88,500 MW and 96,600 MW in 2018. The production constraints probably came from
12864-449: The metal without the need for a crucible. Cerium is used as a chemical simulant of plutonium for development of containment, extraction, and other technologies. Plutonium is an element in which the 5f electrons are the transition border between delocalized and localized; it is therefore considered one of the most complex elements. The anomalous behavior of plutonium is caused by its electronic structure. The energy difference between
12998-505: The mid 1980s it became clear that the Messmer plan had been overambitious. Nuclear power plants achieve their optimum economic value when run flat out, and the projected demand had not materialized. By 1988 France's nuclear power plants had a capacity factor of only around 60%, whereas other countries that had not invested in nuclear power so heavily were nearer 80–90%. Still, the goal of replacing imported fossil fuels in electricity generation
13132-448: The nuclei of heavy hydrogen ) in the following reaction: where a deuteron hitting uranium-238 produces two neutrons and neptunium-238, which decays by emitting negative beta particles to form plutonium-238. Plutonium-238 can also be produced by neutron irradiation of neptunium-237 . Plutonium isotopes undergo radioactive decay, which produces decay heat . Different isotopes produce different amounts of heat per mass. The decay heat
13266-692: The original cost estimates. Hot testing is currently planned to occur by the end of 2018 In July 2015, EDF agreed to take a majority stake in Areva NP, following a French government instruction they create a "global strategic partnership". In 2016, the European Commission assessed that France's nuclear decommissioning liabilities were seriously underfunded, with only 23 billion euros of earmarked assets to cover 74.1 billion euros of expected decommissioning costs. In October 2019, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire released an audit report on
13400-405: The original estimate of €3.3bn. Further delays have since pushed the opening to 2024. A number of nuclear power plants were forcibly shut in 2022 due to stress corrosion cracking on pipework providing primary cooling. This led to EDF to estimate a loss of 70 TWh of production (or around 13% of annual generation) for the year 2022 and a fall in profits of €19 billion . Since 2010,
13534-454: The oxidation state and the nature of the acid anion . It is the acid anion that influences the degree of complexing —how atoms connect to a central atom—of the plutonium species. Additionally, the formal +2 oxidation state of plutonium is known in the complex [K(2.2.2-cryptand)] [Pu Cp″ 3 ], Cp″ = C 5 H 3 (SiMe 3 ) 2 . A +8 oxidation state is possible as well in the volatile tetroxide PuO 4 . Though it readily decomposes via
13668-554: The project's total cost to EUR8.5 billion. Similarly, the cost of the Olkiluoto Nuclear Power Plant (EPR) to be built in Finland has escalated. Areva and the utility involved "are in bitter dispute over who will bear the cost overruns and there is a real risk now that the utility will default. EDF has suggested that if the political environment causes the EPR costs to overrun, the design would be replaced with
13802-522: The protection of vital functions in all its nuclear reactors to avoid a disaster in the event of a natural calamity, adding there was no need to close any plants. "There is a need to add a layer to protect safety mechanisms in reactors that are vital for the protection of the reactor such as cooling functions and electric powering", Jacques Repussard, head of the IRSN, said. Opinion polls showed support for atomic energy had dropped since Fukushima. Forty percent of
13936-428: The public does not have such means. France does not have any procedure of public inquiries to allow the assessment of major technological programmes. The plan envisaged the construction of around 80 nuclear plants by 1985 and a total of 170 plants by 2000. Work on the first three plants, at Tricastin , Gravelines , and Dampierre , started the same year and France installed 56 reactors over the next 15 years. However by
14070-473: The refractory metals chromium , molybdenum , niobium , tantalum, and tungsten, which are soluble in liquid plutonium, but insoluble or only slightly soluble in solid plutonium. Gallium, aluminium, americium, scandium and cerium can stabilize δ-phase plutonium for room temperature. Silicon , indium , zinc and zirconium allow formation of metastable δ state when rapidly cooled. High amounts of hafnium , holmium and thallium also allows some retention of
14204-412: The release of a high-energy helium nucleus, is the most common form of radioactive decay for plutonium. A 5 kg mass of Pu contains about 12.5 × 10 atoms. With a half-life of 24,100 years, about 11.5 × 10 of its atoms decay each second by emitting a 5.157 MeV alpha particle. This amounts to 9.68 watts of power. Heat produced by the deceleration of these alpha particles makes it warm to
14338-592: The safety of computerized systems . Nuclear research was discontinued for a time after the war, owing to the instability of the Fourth Republic and the lack of finances available. However, in the 1950s a civil nuclear research program was started, a by-product of which was plutonium . A secret Committee for the Military Applications of Atomic Energy was formed in 1956, and a development program for delivery vehicles started. In 1957, soon after
14472-451: The same technologies, and the two types are frequently referred to as CPY . Compared to CP0 they have an additional cooling circuit between the emergency system that in case of an accident allows to spray water into the containment and the circuit which contains river water, a more flexible control system and some minor difference in the layout of the building. This three loop design (three steam generators and three primary circulation pumps)
14606-499: The sample up to 70% in volume, which in turn flake off as a powder that is pyrophoric . It is radioactive and can accumulate in bones , which makes the handling of plutonium dangerous. Plutonium was first synthesized and isolated in late 1940 and early 1941, by deuteron bombardment of uranium-238 in the 1.5-metre (60 in) cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley . First, neptunium-238 ( half-life 2.1 days)
14740-416: The stronger cyclotron at Paris at this point, they would likely have been able to detect plutonium had they tried, albeit in tiny quantities (a few becquerels ). The chemistry of plutonium was found to resemble uranium after a few months of initial study. Early research was continued at the secret Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago . On August 20, 1942, a trace quantity of this element
14874-405: The summer of 2021, some power plants were not back in service in late 2021. In October, stress corrosion cracking at Civaux Nuclear Power Plant led to the decision to shut down both blocks for long term repair. In December 2021, this was extended to both blocks of Chooz Nuclear Power Plant , as all four plants use the same type of reactor, N4, the most modern in operation, with grid connection in
15008-474: The total costs of operation, including waste management and decommissioning. In 2001, nuclear construction and services company Areva was created by the merger of CEA Industrie , Framatome and Cogema (now Areva NC ). Its main shareholder is the French owned company CEA, but the German federal government also holds, through Siemens , 34% of the shares of Areva's subsidiary, Areva NP , in charge of building
15142-402: The touch. Pu due to its much shorter half life heats up to much higher temperatures and glows red hot with blackbody radiation if left without external heating or cooling. This heat has been used in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (see below). The resistivity of plutonium at room temperature is very high for a metal, and it gets even higher with lower temperatures, which
15276-410: The unaided eye. The nuclear properties of plutonium-239 were also studied; researchers found that when it is hit by a neutron it breaks apart (fissions) by releasing more neutrons and energy. These neutrons can hit other atoms of plutonium-239 and so on in an exponentially fast chain reaction. This can result in an explosion large enough to destroy a city if enough of the isotope is concentrated to form
15410-542: The various organs. Hamilton started administering soluble microgram portions of plutonium-239 compounds to rats using different valence states and different methods of introducing the plutonium (oral, intravenous, etc.). Eventually, the lab at Chicago also conducted its own plutonium injection experiments using different animals such as mice, rabbits, fish, and even dogs. The results of the studies at Berkeley and Chicago showed that plutonium's physiological behavior differed significantly from that of radium. The most alarming result
15544-515: The wholesale nuclear power market, to enable EDF to completely cover its costs while preventing price volatility. A "price corridor" with floor and ceiling price limits would be defined for wholesale nuclear power electricity, rather than the current fixed €42/MWh for a quarter of production, which third-party suppliers used to avoid peak period high prices. A price band of €42-48/MWh has been suggested, though pricing would be controlled by regulator Commission de régulation de l'énergie (CRE). Some prefer
15678-428: The winter high electricity demand period into 2017. This caused power price increases in Europe as France increased electricity imports, especially from Germany, to augment supply. As of late October 2016, 20 of France's 58 reactors were offline. These steel quality concerns may prevent the regulator giving the life extensions from 40 to 50 years, that had been assumed by energy planners, for many reactors. In December 2016
15812-745: The work of the Joliot - Curies . In 1945 the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) created the Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA) governmental agency, and Nobel prize winner Frédéric Joliot-Curie , member of the French Communist Party (PCF) since 1942, was appointed high commissioner. He was relieved of his duties in 1950 for political reasons contingent upon the Cold War , and later
15946-448: The δ phase at room temperature. Neptunium is the only element that can stabilize the α phase at higher temperatures. Plutonium alloys can be produced by adding a metal to molten plutonium. If the alloying metal is reductive enough, plutonium can be added in the form of oxides or halides. The δ phase plutonium–gallium alloy (PGA) and plutonium–aluminium alloy are produced by adding Pu(III) fluoride to molten gallium or aluminium, which has
16080-467: Was Slovakia 53.1%, third Ukraine 51.2% and followed by Hungary 48%, Bulgaria 40.8%, Belgium 39.1%, Slovenia 37.8%, the Czech Republic 37.3%, Armenia 34.5% and Finland 33.9% France's nuclear reactors comprise 90 percent of EDFs capacity and so they are used in load-following mode and some reactors close at weekends because there is no market for the electricity. This means that
16214-409: Was 557 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2014, slightly down from 570 and 567 TWh produced in 2008 and 2004, respectively. France is the world's 9th largest producer of electricity. France is also the world's second largest producer of nuclear electricity, behind the United States and ahead of Russia and Korea. In terms of nuclear's share on the total domestic electricity generation , France has by far
16348-481: Was also exported to a number of other countries, including: In February 2021, Autorité de sûreté nucléaire gave generic authorisation, subject to conditions, for a ten-year life extension beyond the design life of 40 years of the French 900 MWe reactors. Specific reviews of each reactor are still required. There are 20 reactors of this design (four steam generators and four primary circulation pumps) operating in France. The P4 and P'4 type have some minor difference in
16482-476: Was conducted underground. Enrico Fermi and a team of scientists at the University of Rome reported that they had discovered element 94 in 1934. Fermi called the element hesperium and mentioned it in his Nobel Lecture in 1938. The sample actually contained products of nuclear fission , primarily barium and krypton . Nuclear fission, discovered in Germany in 1938 by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann ,
16616-500: Was created directly by the bombardment but decayed by beta emission with a half-life of a little over two days, which indicated the formation of element 94. The first bombardment took place on December 14, 1940, and the new element was first identified through oxidation on the night of February 23–24, 1941. A paper documenting the discovery was prepared by the team and sent to the journal Physical Review in March 1941, but publication
16750-624: Was delayed until a year after the end of World War II due to security concerns. At the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge , Egon Bretscher and Norman Feather realized that a slow neutron reactor fuelled with uranium would theoretically produce substantial amounts of plutonium-239 as a by-product. They calculated that element 94 would be fissile, and had the added advantage of being chemically different from uranium, and could easily be separated from it. McMillan had recently named
16884-732: Was in average 8,78% of the electricity production during 2020 with a peak to 32,49% on 27 September 2020.The load factor is estimated at 25%. In 2020 electric energy from wind power in France is still only produced in onshore wind farms. However, wind farms are under construction and the first offshore wind farms might be connected to the grid in 2021. The government in its strategy for Energy and Climate expect to install 2.4 GW of offshore wind power by 2023. The tendering process to build France's first five offshore wind farms began on 25 January 2011 with four sites being awarded in 2012 ( Fécamp , Courseulles-sur-Mer , Saint-Nazaire , Saint-Brieuc ) and Dieppe / Le Tréport not being awarded because
17018-426: Was isolated and measured for the first time. About 50 micrograms of plutonium-239 combined with uranium and fission products was produced and only about 1 microgram was isolated. This procedure enabled chemists to determine the new element's atomic weight. On December 2, 1942, on a racket court under the west grandstand at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field, researchers headed by Enrico Fermi achieved
17152-412: Was mostly met (France noawadays uses only minuscule amounts of oil to produce electricity and its last two coal power plants Cordemais Power Station and Saint-Avold are to be shut down when the 1600 MW net electric EPR at Flamanville Nuclear Power Plant comes online). Following the 2011 Fukushima I nuclear accidents , the head of France's nuclear safety agency said that France needed to upgrade
17286-479: Was one of the 11 signatories to the Russell-Einstein Manifesto in 1955. The CEA was created by Charles de Gaulle on 18 October 1945. Its mandate is to conduct fundamental and applied research into many areas, including the design of nuclear reactors , the manufacturing of integrated circuits , the use of radionuclides for medical treatments, seismology and tsunami propagation, and
17420-577: Was summarized in a slogan: "In France, we do not have oil, but we have ideas." The announcement of the Messmer Plan was enacted without public or parliamentary debate. Concern over the government's action spread among the scientific community of France. The lack of consultation outside of political realms regarding the plan led to the formation of the Groupement des scientifiques pour l'information sur l'énergie nucléaire (Association of Scientists for Information on Nuclear Energy). 4,000 scientists signed
17554-431: Was synthesized, which then beta-decayed to form the new element with atomic number 94 and atomic weight 238 (half-life 88 years). Since uranium had been named after the planet Uranus and neptunium after the planet Neptune , element 94 was named after Pluto , which at the time was also considered a planet. Wartime secrecy prevented the University of California team from publishing its discovery until 1948. Plutonium
17688-400: Was that there was significant deposition of plutonium in the liver and in the "actively metabolizing" portion of bone. Furthermore, the rate of plutonium elimination in the excreta differed between species of animals by as much as a factor of five. Such variation made it extremely difficult to estimate what the rate would be for human beings. During World War II the U.S. government established
17822-562: Was the leader in the export of electricity in 2008: 48 TWh followed by Paraguay 46 TWh and Canada 32 TWh. Plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element ; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized . The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states . It reacts with carbon , halogens , nitrogen , silicon , and hydrogen . When exposed to moist air, it forms oxides and hydrides that can expand
17956-579: Was unknown at the time. Plutonium (specifically, plutonium-238) was first produced, isolated and then chemically identified between December 1940 and February 1941 by Glenn T. Seaborg , Edwin McMillan , Emilio Segrè , Joseph W. Kennedy , and Arthur Wahl by deuteron bombardment of uranium in the 60-inch (150 cm) cyclotron at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley . Neptunium-238
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