Detection of Plutonium-244 in Nature

@article{Hoffman1971DetectionOP,
  title={Detection of Plutonium-244 in Nature},
  author={Darleane C. Hoffman and F. O. Lawrence and Jack L Mewherter and Frank Rourke},
  journal={Nature},
  year={1971},
  volume={234},
  pages={132-134}
}
Mass spectrometric measurements of plutonium isolated from Precambrian bastnasite confirm the presence of 244Pu in nature. Although the existence of 244Pu as an extinct radioactivity has been postulated to explain the xenon isotope ratios observed in meteorites, this is the first indication of its present existence in nature. 
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122 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
3
Background Citations
16
Methods Citations
1

122 Citations

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The 239Pu/238U ratios are reexamined in volcanic ashes and rock, uranium mineral and other contemporary terrestrial samples and also in the atmospheric samples. This ratio in rain samples collected…
Possible cosmic dust origin of terrestrial plutonium-244
THE discovery of 244Pu by Hoffman et al.1 in bastnaesite, a Precambrian rare earth fluorocarbonate ore from the Mountain Pass deposit in California, has raised the question of whether the so-called…
Xenology, FUN Anomalies and the Plutonium-244 Story
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  • Environmental Science
    Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Environmental carcinogenesis & ecotoxicology reviews
  • 2013
TLDR
The concentrations of plutonium isotopes in analyzed samples indicates its measurement is of great importance for environmental and safety assessment, especially in contaminated areas.
Accelerator mass-spectrometric measurements of heavy long-lived isotopes
Isotope selective ultratrace analysis of plutonium by resonance ionisation mass spectrometry
Section 4. Radiogenic Argon and Xenon in the Mantle and the ‘Age’ of Mantle Degassing
Similar to the case of He discussed in the last section, terrestrial Ar is dominated by its radiogenic isotope 40Ar, produced by the radioactive decay of 40K[23][1]. Indeed 40Ar forms a significant…
A Search for Natural Pu-244 in Deep-Sea Sediment: Progress Report
“Now-extant” Pu-244 discovered in a Precambrian bastnaesite by D.C. Hoffman et al. in 1971 was explained by one of the authors (K.S.) in 1974 as due to possible inflow to the Earth as a cosmic dust…
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References

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