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钸 is a modern phono-semantic compound, one of many such characters coined for the periodic table. The left side is the simplified metal radical 钅, signaling a metallic substance, while the right side is the phonetic component 布 (bù), which provides the pronunciation. Its traditional counterpart, 鈽, employs the unsimplified gold radical 金. The character denotes the radioactive actinide metal plutonium; the radical classifies it as a metal, and 布 approximates the first syllable of the element's Western name, thereby adapting international chemical nomenclature into Chinese.
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