Table of Contents
What would francium be used for?
Francium has no uses, having a half life of only 22 minutes. Francium has no known biological role. It is toxic due to its radioactivity. Francium is obtained by the neutron bombardment of radium in a nuclear reactor.
Does the human body use francium?
It decays into radium-223 through beta decay or into astatine-219 through alpha decay. Due to the small amounts produced and its short half-life, there are currently no uses for francium outside of basic scientific research.
Can you purchase francium?
Fast Facts: The Most Expensive Natural Elements The most expensive natural element is francium, but it decays so quickly it can’t be collected to be sold. If you could buy it, you’d pay billions of dollars for 100 grams. Scientists only know they were there because of their decay products.
Where can you get francium?
uranium minerals
Sources of francium It occurs naturally in uranium minerals, but the Earth’s crust probably contains less than 1 ounce of francium at any time. Francium can be made artificially if thorium is bombarded with protons.
What is francium specialty?
It is the second-least electronegative element, following cesium. It is the second rarest natural element, following astatine. Francium is the heaviest known member of the alkali metals series. It has the highest equivalent weight of any element and is the most unstable of the first 101 elements of the periodic system.
What happens if you put francium in water?
The piece of francium would blow apart, while the reaction with water would produce hydrogen gas, francium hydroxide, and a lot of heat. The entire area would be contaminated with radioactive material.
How is francium used in society?
Francium has been used in the field of research, chemistry and also in the atomic structure. It is used for diagnostics for curing cancers. It is also used in many spectroscopic experiments. Francium is a highly radioactive metal, and since it exhibits a short half-life, it does not have more impact on the environment.
How much does a gram of francium cost?
1. Francium – approximately $1 billion per gram. You might ask how could such an element be so expensive. The cost of this element comes from the fact that its half-life is only 22 minutes.
Does francium exist naturally?
As it turns out, francium was one of the last natural elements to be discovered, and is the second rarest after astatine. Estimates of the abundance of francium suggest that there is only about 30 g in the whole of the Earth’s crust.
Are there any real commercial uses for francium?
There are no commercial applications for francium, due to its instability and rarity. However, the few of its uses are described as follows: It has been used for research purposes in the field of chemistry.
Where can francium be found outside the laboratory?
Outside of the laboratory, only trace amounts of francium can be found in uranium and thorium ores. Out of all of the naturally occurring elements, francium is the most unstable. Due to its rarity and instability, commercial applications for francium do not exist.
Why is francium not used as an artificial element?
Unlike many other artificial chemical elements like Pu, Tc, Pm, Np and others, Francium is not able to be obtained in the sufficient amount because the limited life time of its isotopes. Due to this fact, the experiment of this chemical element only uses the very low amount of Francium for about less than 10 -15 gram.
How is francium used in the treatment of cancer?
In certain rats which having cancer, francium concentrated selectively in the tumor. The activity of francium increased in the affected tissue on that rats. From this research, we can see that francium might have the promising use as the new diagnostic method for cancer disease.