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Polonium has a position in the periodic table that could make it a metal, a metalloid or a nonmetal. It is classed as a metal as its electrical conductivity decreases as its temperature rises. Because of this property it is used in industry to eliminate dangerous static electricity in making paper or sheet metal.
Polonium is a radioactive element that exists in two metallic allotropes. The alpha form is the only known example of a simple cubic crystal structure in a single atom basis at STP ( space group Pm 3 m, no. 221). The unit cell has an edge length of 335.2 picometers; the beta form is rhombohedral.
- α, β
- [209]
- silvery
Apr 25, 2024 · Polonium, a radioactive, silvery-gray or black metallic element of the oxygen group (Group 16 [VIa] in the periodic table). The first element to be discovered by radiochemical analysis, polonium was discovered in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie, who were investigating the radioactivity of a certain pitchblende.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mar 9, 2024 · Polonium is a rare and highly radioactive element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84. A metal or metalloid in the periodic table, it lies in the p-block, and is a member of group 16, the chalcogens. Its discovery in 1898 marked a significant milestone in the study of radioactivity.
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Polonium (Po) Polonium is the 84th element in the periodic table and has a symbol of Po and atomic number of 84. It has an atomic weight of (209) and a mass number of 186. Polonium has eighty-four protons and one hundred two neutrons in its nucleus, and eighty-four electrons in six shells. It is located in group sixteen, period six and block p ...
- 84
- 16
- 209
- 186
Polonium is highly radioactive, and all its isotopes are highly unstable and radioacitve. The atomic masses of polonium isotopes range in atomic masses from 188 to 220u. Poloium-214, polonium-210 and polonium-218 are produced during the decay chain of uranium-238. Polonium-209 is the most stable isotope and have a half-life of around 125 years [5].
Atomic Volume. 22.23 cm 3 /mol. Thermal Conductivity. 0.2 W/cm·K. Oxidation States. -2, 2, 4, 6. Applications. Polonium is used to eliminate static electricity produced during processes such as rolling paper, wire and sheet metal. Polonium can be mixed or alloyed with beryllium to provide a source of neutrons.
