Plutonium-244
A concentrated solution of plutonium-244 | |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | 244Pu |
| Names | plutonium-244 |
| Protons (Z) | 94 |
| Neutrons (N) | 150 |
| Nuclide data | |
| Natural abundance | Trace |
| Half-life (t1/2) | 8.13×107 years |
| Isotope mass | 244.0642044 Da |
| Spin | 0+ |
| Parent isotopes | 248Cm (α) 244Np (β−) |
| Decay products | 240U |
| Decay modes | |
| Decay mode | Decay energy (MeV) |
| α (99.879%) | |
| SF (0.121%) | |
| Isotopes of plutonium Complete table of nuclides | |
Plutonium-244 (244Pu) is an isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 81.3 million years. This is longer than any other isotope of plutonium and longer than any other known isotope of an element beyond bismuth, except for the three naturally abundant ones: uranium-235 (704 million years), uranium-238 (4.468 billion years), and thorium-232 (14.05 billion years). Given the half-life of 244Pu, an exceedingly small amount should still be present on Earth, making plutonium a likely but unproven candidate as the shortest-lived primordial element.