Californium
Atomic Number: 98
Californium is the 98th element in the periodic table and it is one of the actinides. Californium is quite a useful element because it is a good neutron emitter (it releases neutrons and alpha perticles). It is used in portable metal detectors, for identifying gold and silver ores. Be careful though because this element can be quite dangerous when breathing in. It is known for being extremely radioactive. Californium is extremely rare and if bought, can be bought for 25 million dollars per gram. Only one gram of this element is produced per year. Californium is not found on earth naturally, but it can be made by bombarding plutonium with neutrons. Though, you can also make it by firing alpha particles at curium-242. Californium was discovered in 1950 by a team consisting of Glenn Seaborg, Albert Ghiorso, Kenneth Street and Stanley G. Thompson at the University of California. They made this element by bombarding curium-242 with alpha particles as I stated before. Californium is named for the state of California, where the element was first made and disocovered. |
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