Making plutonium from smoke detectors

[Mike_Yates]

Apparently you can make plutonium-241 from an element called "Americium-241" found in smoke detectors.

I'm not sure if it is possible to process or refine this into weapons-grade fissile material. U-235 is used in most nuclear weapons.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf57.html

 

[JBCorbell]

Recognizing the extent of your ignorance is scary.

The typical smoke detector might contain up to 3 micrograms of americium. In order to collect 1 gram of americium you would need to crack 333,333 smoke detectors. then you would probably need at least $100,000,000 worth of equipment to refine that americum down to a miniscule amount of plutonium.

I'll say it again. Get a friggin life.

 

[Super-Surprise]

 

[JBCorbell]

To skinny for my tastes. Radiation poisoning?