What type of element is polonium

Because of its short half life, its decay generates considerable heat W per gram of metal. It can be used as a convenient and very light heat source to generate reliable thermoelectric power in space satellites and lunar stations, as no moving parts are involved. Johnny Ball lifting the lid on the radioactive element polonium discovered by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre.

Next time on Chemistry in its element we remain radioactive much like the substance itself with earth scientist Ian Farnan. Anyone familiar with the iconic image of the mushroom cloud understands the tremendous explosive power of a correctly controlled detonation of plutonium. The energy density is mind-boggling: a sphere of metal 10 cm in diameter and weighing just 8 kg is enough to produce an explosion at least as big as the one that devastated Nagasaki in Ian Farnan with what promises to be an explosive edition of Chemistry in its element next week.

I'm Chris Smith, thank you for listening and see you next time. Chemistry in its element is brought to you by the Royal Society of Chemistry and produced by thenakedscientists.

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Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Youtube. Discovery date. Discovered by. Origin of the name. Polonium is named after Poland, the native country of Marie Curie, who first isolated the element. Melting point. Boiling point. Atomic number. Relative atomic mass. Key isotopes. Electron configuration. CAS number. ChemSpider ID. ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database.

Electronegativity Pauling scale. Common oxidation states. Atomic mass. Half life. Mode of decay. Relative supply risk. Crustal abundance ppm. Top 3 producers. Top 3 reserve holders. Political stability of top producer.

Political stability of top reserve holder. Young's modulus GPa. Shear modulus GPa. Bulk modulus GPa. Vapour pressure. Temperature K. Pressure Pa. Listen to Polonium Podcast. Transcript : Chemistry in its element: polonium Promo You're listening to Chemistry in its element brought to you by Chemistry World , the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry. End promo Chris Smith Hello, this week in Chemistry in its element the story of a substance that was named to snub Russia, power space probes keeps paper static free and has even been used as a murder weapon in London.

To reveal the secrets of Marie Curie's element, and that's polonium, here's Johnny Ball Johnny Ball Polonium, element 84 , was discovered in and named after Poland, the homeland of Marie Curie Ne Sklodowska who found it with her husband Pierre Curie.

The discovery of polonium July 98 was no mean task. Pitchbende, a uranium bearing ore, seemed to be far to radio active than could be accounted for by the uranium. The couple got the waste ore free, after the uranium had been removed. They sieved and sorted by hand, ounce by ounce, through tons of pitchblende before tiny amounts of polonium were discovered.

The environmental and biochemical forces which may tend to reconcentrate these toxic materials in living cells are not well known. Although polonium occurs naturally, it has become much more available for entering into water, food, living cells and tissue since the mining boom which began shortly after the Second World War.

Back to chart periodic elements. More from 'Elements'. Toggle navigation. Home Periodic table Elements Polonium. About Lenntech. General Delivery Conditions. Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Atomic number. Polonium Polonium is a radioactive, extremely rare semi-metal. Applications Polonium was once used in textile mills to eliminate static charges and by the manufacturers of photographic plates in brushes to remove the accumulated dust.

Polonium has a half-life of Polonium's most stable isotope , polonium, has a half-life of years. It decays into lead through alpha decay. Polonium can be used to eliminate static electricity in machinery that is caused by processes such as the rolling of paper, wire or sheet metal, although other materials which emit beta particles are more commonly used for this purpose. Polonium is also used in brushes for removing dust from photographic films, although the polonium must be carefully sealed to protect the user from contamination.

Polonium is also combined with beryllium to form neutron sources. Estimated Oceanic Abundance : 1. Number of Stable Isotopes : 0 View all isotope data.

Electron Shell Configuration :.