INTRODUCTION
Polonium is a rare, radioactive metallic element. It was the first element to be discovered by means of its radioactivity. It was found in pitchblende in 1898 by Marie Curie, who named it for her native country, Poland.
Polonium is extremely rare in nature. Trace amounts of the element occur in radium-containing ores. Polonium 210 is the most common naturally occurring isotope, wiith a half-life of 138 days.
BASIC INFORMATIONS
- Atomic Number
- 84
- Atomic Mass
- 209
- Atomic radius
- N/A
- Ionization energy
- 813
- Electronic config
- 2,8,18,32,18,6
- Principal Valency
- -2
- Density g/cm³
- 9.14
- Melting point °C
- 254
- Boiling point °C
- 962
- Type of Element
- Metalloid
- Electronegativity
- 2.0
- Element Category
- Chalcogen
- Appearance
- N/A
- Block
- p-block
- Period
- 6
- Group
- 16
- No of Isotopes
- 37
- Occurrence
- Radioactive
- Abundance in ppm
- Trace
- Year of Discovery
- 1898
EXTRACTION
It is extracted by sublimation
OXIDATION STATES
+6,+4,+2,-2 (Amphoteric)
MAJOR SOURCE
Radioactive process
EXAMPLES OF COMPOUND PRESENT
Polonium oxide
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
* Being a radioactive element, it is largely utilize in radioactive/nuclear research, and for experimental purposes.
* Polonium is used as a good source of alpha radiation, because most of its isotopes disintegrate by emitting large numbers of high-energy alpha particles.
* It has been used in devices that ionize the air to eliminate accumulation of electrostatic charges, iin printing and photography equipment.
