Curium | Chemistry

First Year Lab, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Curium, 96, First-Year Lab University of Waterloo, Waterloo ON

Curium: Curium is a synthetic radioactive element, number 96, named in honour of husband and wife scientists Pierre Curie and Marie Slodowska-Curie who share a Nobel Prize in Physics (jointly with Henri Becquerel) for their work on radiation. Curium was first intentionally synthesized by the research group of Glenn T. Seaborg at University of California Berkeley, using the 60-inch cyclotron in 1944. Curium isotopes have been detected in the fallout regions of US nuclear hydrogen bomb test sites, and in spent nuclear fuel. Uses of curium are limited, but it served as a source of α-particles on the X-ray spectrometer on several Mars Rovers. The “electrons” on this elemental tile are photos of items mentioned in this description.

Sue Stathopulos, First Year Chemistry, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Atomic properties*

Name:

Curium

Symbol:

Cm

Atomic number:

96

Atomic mass:

(247) amu

Melting point:

1345ºC

Boiling point:

No data

Density:

13.51 g/cm³

Electronegativity:

No data

# of Isotopes:

6

State:

Solid

Colour:

Silver**

Classification:

Metallic**

* Haynes, W. M. (2011). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st edition: http://www.hbcponline.com/ Retrieved April 7, 2011

** Winter, M. (2010). Home of the Periodic Table. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Web Elements: http://www.webelements.com/