Neptunium
Atomic Number: 93
Neptunium is the 93rd element in the periodic table and it is one of the actinides. It is a ductile, silvery, radioactive metal which forms numerous chemical compounds. Neptunium is the first element that is a transuranic element. That means that it is an element above the atomic number of 92. This is because it is an element which is very unstable and decay's radioactively into other elements. Neptunium doesn't have very much use other than being used as fuel in nuclear weapons. Though, neptunium-237 is used to create plutonium-238 which is a very important element and has many uses. Neptunium is very dangerous and has one of the strongest and deadliest radiation. The most stable isotope of neptunium is neptunium-237, with a half-life of 2,144,000 years. The least stable isotope is neptunium-225, with a half-life of more than 2 microseconds. Neptunium can be found in the earth in uranium ores. It was first made in 1940 by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson at Berkeley, California. This was before they knew that neptunium can be found in the earth's crust. Neptunium is named after the planet neptune because the element neptunium comes after uranium just like in our solar system. |
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