On the Mechanism of “Dissolution” in Liquids of PuO2 by Alpha Decay

Abstract

An experiment to understand subparticle formation by alpha decay of ²³⁹Pu in PuO₂ particles shows that in vacuum at most a single ²³⁹Pu atom is ejected with the ²³⁵U recoil nucleus and that therefore direct spraying-out of multi-atom fragments does not occur. The most plausible model of the previously observed subparticle formation in water is that a damaged region is produced in the original particle and that the damage is subsequently released by exposure to water.