Plutonium metallurgy: The materials science challenges bridging condensed-matter physics and chemistry

Although there exists evidence of metallurgical practices dating back over 6000 years, studies of Pu and Pu alloys have been conducted for barely 60 years. During the time of the Manhattan Project and extending for some time afterward, the priority to produce the metal took precedence over the fundamental understanding of the metallurgical principals. In the past decade or so, there has been a resurgence in the basic metallurgy, condensed-matter physics, and chemistry of Pu and Pu alloys. These communities have made substantial progress, both experimentally and theoretically in many areas; however, many challenges still remain. The intent of this brief overview is to highlight a number important challenges that we face in the metallurgy of Pu including phase transformations and phase stability, aging, and the connection between electronic structure and metallurgy.