Posted
on March 17, 2016
 |
| I am proud to be a Californian. A Californian who loves the movie "Clueless"! |
But
today is not about californication – it's about californium.
Which
is a chemical element.
This
time, California gets the credit rather than the blame – because
scientists in California made the element.
Like
other elements with high atomic numbers, californium can be
synthesized by bombarding other elements with alpha particles. In
this case, it was made at the University of California Radiation
Laboratory, in Berkeley, by bombarding curium with alpha particles.
On this date in 1950, researchers announced the new element to the world.
Here
are some of the characteristics of the various forms of californium:
One
crystalline forms exists above 900 degrees C (or 1,650 degrees F –
so, VERY hot!), and another crystalline form exists below that
temperature.- A third form exists at high pressure.
- It slowly tarnishes at room temperature.
- We know of twenty different isotopes of californium. Each isotope has a different number of neutrons, and therefore a different weight.
- The different isotopes have different lengths of half-life. Half-life is the measure of time it takes for about half of the atoms in a sample to decay into other elements. For example, californium-251 has a half-life of 898 years, and californium-253 has a half-life of just 2 and a half years.
Because certain isotopes of californium emit neutrons when they decay, this chemical element is used to start up some nuclear reactors, to study materials with neutron spectroscopy, and in nuclear synthesis (making new elements).- Of course, like all other radioactive elements, californium must be handled carefully; it can be harmful.
Also
on this date:
Plan ahead:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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