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All fissile materials are equally capable of sustaining a chain reaction in which either thermal or Slow Neutron s or Fast Neutron s predominate. That is, they can all be used to fuel:
"Fissile" is distinguished from "fissionable". "Fissionable" are any materials with atoms that can undergo nuclear fission. "Fissile" is defined to be materials that are fissionable by slow Neutron s. "Fissile" thus, is more restrictive than "fissionable" — although all fissile materials are fissionable, not all fissionable materials are fissile. Some authorities even restrict the term ''fissionable'' to mean only non-fissile materials. Notably, Uranium-238 is fissionable but not fissile. Fast fission of uranium-238 in the third stage of the fission-fusion-fission weapons contributes greatly to their yield and fallout. Fast fission of uranium-238 also makes a significant contribution to the power output of some Fast Breeder Reactor s. However, uranium-238 on its own cannot achieve criticality, so these uses are both dependent on there being fissile material present to sustain the chain reaction. The three most important fissile materials are: All these have been used successfully as Fission Fuel s. Plutonium-241 and Neptunium -237 are also fissile but have not been used as a nuclear fuel. Several other Transuranic isotopes are known to be fissile, all of them having both even Atomic Number s and odd atomic Mass Number s. These include:
To be a useful fuel for nuclear fission chain reactions, the material must:
Fissile materials may be further categorized {Link without Title} :
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