Conceptual Physics (12th Edition)

Published by Addison-Wesley
ISBN 10: 0321909100
ISBN 13: 978-0-32190-910-7

Chapter 34 - Think and Explain - Page 654-655: 45

Answer

Plutonium.

Work Step by Step

On average, plutonium releases more neutrons per fission event. All else being equal, the chance that this fission will lead to another and sustain/start a chain reaction is slightly greater for plutonium. We expect that plutonium has a smaller criti­cal mass than uranium.
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