(ELI5) I just read that plutonium is very rare. I have little to no knowledge of science etc. where in the natural world does it come from? How do you source it?

Question

(ELI5) I just read that plutonium is very rare. I have little to no knowledge of science etc. where in the natural world does it come from? How do you source it?

In: 3

Answer 1

As the others are saying, we make Plutonium by adding Neutrons to Uranium.
For this you have to know that an atom’s core is made up of Protons and Neutrons. Tue number of Protons is what defines which element it is. So if we add one neutron to Uranium, but that neutron then decays into an Proton and an Electron, we have effectively added one Proton to it – changing it into Plutonium.