Chapter 32, Problem 47PE

Breeding plutonium produces energy even before any plutonium is fissioned. (The primary purpose of the four nuclear reactors at Chernobyl was breeding plutonium for weapons. Electrical power was a by−product used by the civilian population.) Calculate the energy produced in each of the reactions listed for plutonium breeding just following Example 32.4. The pertinent masses are $m\left({}^{239}\text{U}\right)=239.054289\text{u},m\left({}^{239}\text{Np}\right)=239.052932\text{u}$, and $m\left({}^{239}\text{Pu}\right)=239.052157\text{u}$.