Polonium (pronounced /pɵˈloʊniəm/, po-LOH-nee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive metalloid, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for possible use in heating spacecraft. It is unstable; all isotopes of polonium are radioactive. Polonium is very volatile; it will alm...
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Polonium (pronounced /pɵˈloʊniəm/, po-LOH-nee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive metalloid, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for possible use in heating spacecraft. It is unstable; all isotopes of polonium are radioactive. Polonium is very volatile; it will almost completely vaporize at room temperatures.
Polonium has 33 known isotopes, all of which are radioactive. They have atomic masses that range from 188 to 220 u. Po (half-life 138.376 days) is the most widely available. Po (half-life 103 years) and Po (half-life 2.9 years) can be made through the alpha, proton, or deuteron bombardment of lead or bismuth in a cyclotron.
Po is an alpha emitter that has a half-life of 138.376 days; it decays directly to its stable daughter isotope, Pb. A milligram of Po emits about as many alpha particles per...
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