编辑“︁钚”︁（章节）

=== 發現 ===
1934年，[[恩里科·費米]]和[[羅馬大學]]的研究團隊發布消息，表示他們發現了元素94<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/content/evaluation.html
|title = A Short History of Nuclear Data and Its Evaluation
|last = Holden
|first = Norman E.
|publisher = National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory
|location = Upton (NY)
|work = 51st Meeting of the USDOE Cross Section Evaluation Working Group
|year = 2001
|accessdate = 2009-01-03
|archive-date = 2017-11-08
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171108015427/http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/content/evaluation.html
}}</ref>。費米將元素取名 ''hesperium''，並曾在他1938年的諾貝爾獎演說中提及<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.nobel.se/physics/laureates/1938/fermi-lecture.pdf
|format = PDF
|last = Fermi
|first = Enrico
|date = 1938-12-12
|title = Artificial radioactivity produced by neutron bombardment: Nobel Lecture
|publisher = Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
|access-date = 2010-09-20
|archive-date = 2011-08-05
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110805023848/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1938/fermi-lecture.pdf
}}</ref>。然而，他們的研究成果其實是[[鋇]]、[[氪]]等許多其他元素的混合物，但由於當時[[核分裂]]尚未發明，這個誤會便一直延續<ref>{{cite book
|url = http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/LDarden/sciinq/
|title = The Nature of Scientific Inquiry
|last = Darden
|first = Lindley
|chapter = Enrico Fermi: "Transuranium" Elements, Slow Neutrons
|publisher = Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland
|year = 1998
|accessdate = 2008-01-03
|location = College Park (MD)
|archive-date = 2012-08-17
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120817040843/http://www.philosophy.umd.edu/Faculty/LDarden/sciinq/
}}</ref>。

[[File:Glenn_Seaborg_-_1964.jpg|thumb|[[格倫·西奧多·西博格]]和他在柏克萊的團隊首度製造出鈽。|alt=一位年長男人身著西裝、看著鏡頭左方。]]
1940年12月14日，鈽（特別是鈽-238）才首度被製造、獨立分離出。1941年2月23日，[[格倫·西奧多·西博格]]、[[埃德溫·麥克米倫]]、[[約瑟夫·肯尼迪]]和{{link-en|歐亞哲|Arthur Wahl}}博士在[[柏克萊加州大學]]，在一個60英吋（150公分）的[[迴旋加速器]]中以[[氘|氘核]]撞擊鈾、首度成功地以物理方法得到鈽元素<ref name='ACS'>
{{cite web
|url = http://acs.lbl.gov/Seaborg.talks/65th-anniv/14.html
|title = Elements 93 and 94
|accessdate = 2008-09-17
|author = LBNL contributors
|publisher = Advanced Computing for Science Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
|deadurl = yes
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080920143117/http://acs.lbl.gov/Seaborg.talks/65th-anniv/14.html
|archivedate = 2008-09-20
}} </ref>。在1940年的實驗裡，科學家以撞擊直接製造出[[錼]]-238，但在二天後產生[[β衰變]]，後被認定是元素94的形成<ref name = "Emsley2001-1">{{harvnb|Emsley|2001}}</ref>。

1941年3月，科學家團隊將報告寄給《[[物理評論]]》雜誌<ref name = "Emsley2001-1"/>，但由於發現了新元素的同位素（鈽-239）能產生核分裂、往後或許能用於製造[[核武器|原子彈]]，而在出版前遭到撤回。基於安全因素，報告延遲了一年、直到[[二次大戰]]結束後才順利登載<ref name = "Stwertka1998">{{harvnb|Stwertka|1998}}</ref>。

埃德溫·麥克米倫將前發現的超鈾元素以行星[[海王星]]（Neptune）命名，並提議以[[冥王星]]（Pluto）為系列的下一個元素、即元素94取名{{sfn|Heiserman|1992|p=338}}。西博格原先屬意取名「plutium」，但後來認為它的發音不如「plutonium」<ref name="Clark57">{{cite journal
|last = Clark
|first = David L.
|author2= Hobart, David E.
|title = Reflections on the Legacy of a Legend: Glenn T. Seaborg, 1912–1999
|journal = Los Alamos Science
|volume = 26
|year = 2000
|pages = 56–61, on 57
|url = http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00818011.pdf
|format = PDF
|accessdate = 2009-02-15
|archive-date = 2011-06-04
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604104539/http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00818011.pdf
}}</ref>。他在一次玩笑中選擇「Pu」作為元素符號，卻在沒有被事先通知的情況下，意外被正式納入元素週期表。西博格亦曾因為誤信他們已經找到[[元素週期表|週期表]]中最後一個可能存在的[[化學元素|元素]]，而考慮過「ultimium」（意為「最終」）或「extremium」（意為「極度」）等名稱。<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interviews/seaborg.html
|title = Frontline interview with Seaborg
|publisher = Public Broadcasting Service
|author = PBS contributors
|work = Frontline
|year = 1997
|accessdate = 2008-12-07
|archive-date = 2009-01-05
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090105073016/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interviews/seaborg.html
}}</ref>