What happens if I bombard plutonium-239 with neutrons?

Some of the neutrons will be a absorbed by the plutonium-239 to become plutonium-240. Either one will decay over several years through alpha decay into uranium. read more

Some of the neutrons will be a absorbed by the plutonium-239 to become plutonium-240. Either one will decay over several years through alpha decay into uranium. Also, plutonium-239 is fissile, which means that it can fission when it absorbs a neutron. read more

In a normal environment, these isotopes are giving off neutrons as they break apart, but not many. There's other radioactive products, but that's not what we're worried about. When a neutron is released during fission, it happens to be traveling at a high rate of speed. In U-235, this is no problem, and the atom picks up the neutron just fine. read more

Some of the neutrons will be a absorbed by the plutonium-239 to become plutonium-240. Either one will decay over several years through alpha decay into uranium. Also, plutonium-239 is fissile, which means that it can fission when it absorbs a neutron. Then you end up with much lighter atoms. read more