Welcome to July! The last post in the What Is series took a look at uranium, the last naturally produced element in the Universe. Today we look at neptunium. Neptunium is the first element after uranium that is not produced naturally although there is some evidence suggesting there might be trace amounts existing naturally in Earth's crust.
If neptunium is not produced naturally, how do we get it and what is it used for. Neptunium, named after the planet Neptune, primarily comes from the by-products of nuclear reactions involving uranium.
What is neptunium used for? Not much, it appears. It's been discussed as a possible nuclear fuel, but has not been put into practice. It primarily is used to produce plutonium, named after the not-a-planet Pluto. :-)
So don't count on having a container of neptunium any time soon.
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