Polonium

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To the Periodic Table

Symbol: Po
Atomic number: 84
Atomic weight: 209 (isotope with the longest known half-life)
Density (at room temperature and pressure): 9.2 g/cc
Melting point: 254°C
Boiling point: 962°C
Main valence: +4
Ground state electron configuration: [Xe]4f¹⁴5d¹⁰6s²6p⁴

Polonium 210

Po 210 alpha particles can be stopped by a thin layer of metal foil. During the Manhattan Project Po 210 was transported on platinum foil (itself sealed in a container). For unknown reasons Po is capable of migration outside a sealed container and " . . . can quickly contaminate large areas." It has been observed to travel against an air current, move from place to place without otherwise being acted upon, embed itself " . . . in the walls of shipping containers . . . ," and was used as part of the neutron initiator in the "Fat Man" atomic bomb (Rhodes 578-580).

Works Cited

Po*lo"ni*um (?), n. [NL. So named after Poland, in L. form Polonia, one of the discoverers being a Pole.] (Chem.)

A supposed new element, a radioactive substance discovered by M. and MMe. Curie in pitchblende. It is closely related chemically to bismuth. It emits only alpha rays and is perhaps identical with radium F.

© Webster 1913.