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 norm
A sample of plutonium metal, shaped like a ring to prevent nuclear criticality
Various oxidation states of plutonium in solution
Plutonium pyrophoricity can cause it to look like a glowing ember under certain conditions.
Twenty micrograms of pure plutonium hydroxide
"Fat Man" was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in war
Plutonium
…plutonium in useful quantities for the first time was a major part of the Manhattan Project during World War II that developed 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…
Replica of the original Fat Man bomb
Replica mockup of a Fat Man displayed in the National Museum of the United States Air Force, beside the Bockscar B-29 that dropped the original device – black liquid asphalt sealant was sprayed over the original bomb casing's seams, simulated on the mockup.
A pumpkin bomb (Fat Man test unit) being raised from the pit into the bomb bay of a B-29 for bombing practice during the weeks before the attack on Nagasaki
Fat Man's "physics package" nuclear device about to be encased