November 11: Discovery of Americium and Curium-First Announcement
The discoveries of Americium and Curium were announced in late 1945 by Glenn Theodore Seaborg on the live radio Kids Quiz show on November 11.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1951 was awarded jointly to Edwin Mattison McMillan and Glenn Theodore Seaborg “for their discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements”
Americium (Am)
Synthetic chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 96.
Curium is named after chemist and physicist Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, who were pioneers in understanding radioactivity.
Curium is used primarily for basic scientific research. Some of its isotopes, 242Cm generates about three watts of thermal energy per gram, more than plutonium produces.
Both 242Cm and 244Cm have been used as power sources for space and medical practices.
If absorbed in to the body, curium accumulates in the bones. Its radiation destroys red blood cell formation. Consequently, curium is considered very toxic.
Curium (Cm)
Synthetic chemical element (atomic number 95) of the actinoid series of the periodic table.
Was artificially produced from plutonium-239 (atomic number 94)
The element was named after the United States of America.
The metal is silvery white and tarnishes slowly in dry air at room temperature.
Americium-241 has been used industrially in fluid-density gauges, thickness gauges, aircraft fuel gauges, and distance-sensing devices, all of which use its gamma radiation. As smoke detectors found in nearly all buildings and the potential to power future space missions.
Americium is a highly radioactive element that can be dangerous when handled incorrectly and can cause severe illnesses.
