Why make plutonium?
Plutonium can be used to construct smaller and more lightweight weapons than uranium. Most uranium bombs require 15 to 20 kilograms of material, but plutonium weapons can be built with as little as 5 kilograms. That makes it easier to fit plutonium warheads on missiles. In addition, small plutonium bombs are often used to trigger larger hydrogen weapons. So the technology, says Pike, is an important step towards developing those bombs, which are thousands of times more powerful than uranium and plutonium weapons.
