Table of Contents
Does americium react with water?
The metal slowly reacts with water, and it quickly dissolves in diluted acids, except hydrofluoric acid (HF) that leads to the formation of the protective fluoride (CeF3) layer on the surface of the metal.
What are the properties of americium?
Chemical properties of americium – Health effects of americium – Environmental effects of americium
| Atomic number | 95 |
|---|---|
| Density | 13.67 g.cm-3 at 20°C |
| Melting point | 994 °C |
| Boiling point | 2607 °C |
| Vanderwaals radius | unknown |
Does americium have luster?
The luster of freshly prepared americium metal is white and more silvery than plutonium or neptunium prepared in the same manner. It appears to be more malleable than uranium or neptunium and tarnishes slowly in dry air at room temperature.
Does plutonium have ductility?
At room temperature plutonium is in its alpha (α) form, the most common structural form of the element. It is as hard and brittle as cast iron unless alloyed with other metals to form the room-temperature stabilized delta (δ) phase which makes it soft and ductile.
When was curium discovered?
1944
Curium/Discovered
Where can curium be found?
Curium does not occur naturally; it is typically produced artificially in nuclear reactors through successive neutron captures by plutonium and americium isotopes.
How is curium obtained?
Curium can be made in very small amounts by the neutron bombardment of plutonium in a nuclear reactor. Minute amounts may exist in natural deposits of uranium. Only a few grams are produced each year.
What is curium named after?
Curium is named in honour of Pierre and Marie Curie, who pioneered the study of radioactivity in the final days of the 19th century. Nineteen radioisotopes of curium are known to exist, the first of which, 242Cu was isolated in the hydroxide form in 1947 and in its elemental form in 1951.