{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.plutonium","code":"thing-q1102","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1102/","name":"plutonium","alternateNames":["plutonium-239","plutonium-228","plutonium-229","plutonium-230","plutonium-231","plutonium-232","plutonium-233","plutonium-234","plutonium-235","plutonium-236","plutonium-237","plutonium-243"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A chemical element with symbol Pu and atomic number 94, a radioactive actinide metal produced in nuclear reactors from uranium-238 and existing naturally only in trace amounts, with isotopes from plutonium-228 to plutonium-247, of which plutonium-239 is fissile and used in nuclear weapons and reactor fuel, plutonium-238 powers spacecraft through radioisotope generators, and plutonium-244 is the longest-lived; plutonium is highly toxic when inhaled, tightly controlled under non-proliferation safeguards, and described here at the level of public reference sources without weapons or enrichment detail.","purpose":"Let an agent explain plutonium as an element and its isotopes, relay properties, production in general terms, uses in energy and space, and hazards from chemistry and public reference sources, describe safeguards and arms control with attribution, and decline weapons design, processing or acquisition detail.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Reactor-produced","Fissile isotope 239","Six allotropes","Strict safeguards"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What plutonium is.","layers":[{"id":"properties","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","findings":[{"id":"properties-finding","name":"Properties","description":"Properties.","questions":[{"text":"What are the physical and chemical properties of plutonium, including its allotropes?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the element and its public science, or about weapons, processing or acquisition the model does not cover?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"isotopes","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","findings":[{"id":"isotopes-finding","name":"Isotopes","description":"Isotopes.","questions":[{"text":"What isotopes exist, and what are the roles of plutonium-238, 239, 240 and 244?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific isotope?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Uses.","layers":[{"id":"energy","name":"Energy","description":"Nuclear energy.","findings":[{"id":"energy-finding","name":"Energy","description":"Energy.","questions":[{"text":"How is plutonium formed and used in reactors and MOX fuel, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"space","name":"Space","description":"Space power.","findings":[{"id":"space-finding","name":"Space","description":"Space.","questions":[{"text":"How does plutonium-238 power spacecraft such as Voyager and Perseverance?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits radioisotope thermoelectric generator?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Hazards and safeguards.","layers":[{"id":"hazards","name":"Hazards","description":"Hazards.","findings":[{"id":"hazards-finding","name":"Hazards","description":"Hazards.","questions":[{"text":"What are the radiological and toxic hazards of plutonium, and how are workers and the public protected?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"safeguards","name":"Safeguards","description":"Safeguards.","findings":[{"id":"safeguards-finding","name":"Safeguards","description":"Safeguards.","questions":[{"text":"How do IAEA safeguards and arms control treaties address plutonium, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and non-operational?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and waste.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How was plutonium discovered in 1940, and how did its history unfold through the Manhattan Project and the Cold War, as historians describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of nuclear weapons?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"waste","name":"Waste","description":"Waste and disposition.","findings":[{"id":"waste-finding","name":"Waste","description":"Waste.","questions":[{"text":"How are surplus plutonium and spent fuel managed, and what debates exist, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits radioactive waste?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain plutonium's properties, isotopes and history, citing physics and nuclear agency sources.","Relay public information on its role in reactors, space power sources and nuclear safeguards."],"mustNot":["Provide any information that would help make, separate, acquire or weaponize plutonium.","Help evade nuclear safeguards, export controls or material accounting.","Advise anyone to handle, move or store plutonium outside licensed facilities.","Downplay radiological or toxic hazards of exposure."],"requiresHuman":["Any action affecting systems that store, process or transport nuclear material."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Plutonium can be used in nuclear weapons, so its control matters to global security.","Its long-lived waste places burdens on future generations and on communities near storage sites."],"affectedParties":["Workers in nuclear facilities","Communities near storage and processing sites","Future generations"]},"owners":{"steward":"The licensed nuclear operator holding it, under national regulators and international safeguards.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National nuclear material accounting systems","International safeguards records"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q105789","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q19577","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"actinide","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"heavy metal","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"uranium-238","type":"related","note":"by neutron capture"},{"target":"Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons","type":"related","note":"safeguards"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.plutonium","Wikidata: Q1102 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1102)","CAS: 7440-07-5 plutonium","symbol: Pu element"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["atomic number: 94 Z","density: about 19.8 g/cm^3 - alpha phase","plutonium-239 half-life: about 24100 years","plutonium-238 half-life: about 87.7 years","allotropes: 6 count - at ambient pressure"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Radioactive actinide element","Plutonium-239 fissile isotope, plutonium-238 for space power, plutonium-244 longest-lived, lighter isotopes 228 to 232 from experiments","Uranium is the parent element; neptunium precedes it; americium follows","A silvery metal that tarnishes to grey and is warm from decay."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain properties and isotopes","relay uses and hazards","relay safeguards context","decline sensitive detail"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Agents providing weapons, processing or acquisition detail","Inhalation toxicity and radiation exposure","Criticality accidents in handling","Proliferation risk"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["IAEA safeguards and the NPT","National nuclear material control and export laws","Radiation protection standards for handling and transport"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Reactor fuel, space power sources and, historically, weapons.","plutonium-239 in fuel and weapons","plutonium-238 in radioisotope thermoelectric generators","plutonium-240 and 241 in reactor-grade material","plutonium-244 the longest-lived isotope","short-lived isotopes such as plutonium-228 to 232","plutonium compounds such as the dioxide in MOX fuel"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1102: plutonium","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1102","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Plutonium","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should isotopes of plutonium and radioisotope thermoelectric generator be separate entries?","How should chemistry and IAEA sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming individual isotopes; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1102/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1102/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T05:16:09Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:53+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}