The actinide elements tend not to be found in everyday life. The later actinides, in particular, have very limited uses, and most remain mere scientific curiosities; but what few uses the group members do have usually depend upon their radioactive properties.
Uranium is widely used as a source of nuclear power, its naturally fissile isotope, uranium-235, being of particular importance as a fuel in nuclear reactors, and in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Plutonium too is used for these purposes. A more mundane application of uranium is as a colouring agent in glasses and ceramics.
Several actinides are used as power sources. Plutonium-238 has been used to power space exploration equipment, and curium has been used to provide a souce of power in satellites. Curium-242 has been used to analyse soil on the moon.
