A material, which is not itself fissile (fissionable by thermal neutrons), that can be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor. There are two basic fertile materials: uranium-238 and thorium-232. When these fertile materials capture neutrons, they are converted into fissile plutonium-239 and uranium-233, respectively.
FERTILE MATERIAL
Meaning of FERTILE MATERIAL in English
NRC Nuclear Energy English Glossary. Английский глоссарий ядерной энергии NRC (Национальный научно исследовательский совет). 2012