Cn Kopernicij 112 (285) 12 7 d 112 [Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 2 8 18 32 32 18 2 None 1 40 m 58.3m AlphaEmission TransitionMetal, Metal, Radioactive, Synthetic QHcbQfcwegY Copernicium

Plutonium was first produced in 1940 by Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin M. McMillan, Joseph W. Kennedy and Arthur Wahl.

Plutonium-238 was produced by deuteron bombardment of uranium-238 in the 60-inch cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Berkeley team made neptunium-238 which decayed to plutonium-238. Named after the planet Pluto 112 1996 S. Hofmann, V. Ninov, F. P. Hessberger, P. Armbruster, H. Folger, G. Münzenberg, and others Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. Temporary systematic IUPAC nomenclature

Plutonium is harmful due to its radioactivity

The atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 had a plutonium core

The isotope plutonium-239 is a key fissile component in nuclear weapons, due to its ease of fission and availability.

Plutonium-238 has also been used successfully to power artificial heart pacemakers, to reduce the risk of repeated surgery.

Plutonium-238 mixed with beryllium is used to generate neutrons for research purposes.