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Radium Research Paper

Decent Essays

Kennedy, Hannah
Palmer
Period 1
November 16, 2014
Radium 88 In the year 1898 Polish Chemist Marie Sklodowska Curie and French Chemist Pierre Curie discovered Radium after realizing that when separated from Uranium a substance (Radium) was more radioactive. To notice the element Curie had to process several tons of pitchblende to find small amounts. People can only imagine since one ton of uranium ore only contains around 0.14 grams of radium. On the periodic table Radium (Ra) is in period number 7 and group number 2, commonly known as the Alkaline Earth Metals. Its atomic number is 88, and has an atomic mass of about 226. Radium has 2 valence electrons with a density of 5g.cm^-3 at 20⁰C. Generally, it’s a soft, silverly white color that blackens when exposed to air. At room temperature it is a solid metal with a boiling point of 1140⁰C (2084⁰F) and a melting point of 699.8⁰C (1292⁰F). A small amount of Radium lies within Earth’s crust. In every square kilometer of Earth, at 40 CM below surface and higher, there is about 1 gram of Radium. …show more content…

It’s also used to make radon gas (a radioactive gas) that is, in turn, used to treat some forms of cancer. In a compound with Beryllium it is used as a neutron source and when mixed with a Zinc Sulfide paste it makes self-luminescent paint that was used in watches, clocks, and instrument dials. It combines with most non metals like Oxygen, Fluorine, Chlorine, and Nitrogen. There are 4 naturally occurring isotopes known: Radium-223 (atomic mass: 223.019), Radium-224 (atomic mass: 224.02), Radium-226 (atomic mass: 226.025), and Radium-228 (atomic mass: 228.031). The most stable isotope is Radium-226 and the most common are Radium-224, Radium-226, and Radium-228. The name, Radium, comes from the Latin word ‘Radius’ meaning

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