84
Polonium
Atomic Number84
Atomic Mass209 u
CategoryPost-Transition
State at Room TempSolid
Year Discovered1898
About Polonium
Marie Curies first discovery, named after her homeland Poland, and the first element named for a political cause. Gram for gram it is about 250,000 times more radioactive than radium: a lump glows blue and heats itself. The isotope polonium-210 killed former spy Alexander Litvinenko in a famous 2006 case. Used in antistatic brushes and once in spacecraft heaters.
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