Americium
am-er-ISH-i-em
Americium (Am) is a silvery colored radioactive metal that has the atomic number 95 in the periodic table. It is an Actinoid Metal with the symbol Am.
Americium was the fourth synthetic element to be discovered in 1944 by Seaborg, James and Morgan. The element plutonium was bombarded with neutrons in a reactor producing new elements which were hard to isolate. As it is located on the periodic table below Europium it is named after America. It is used in small amounts in smoke detectors as it produces radiation that is blocked by smoke. It is also used as as source of gamma and alpha rays in science. It is a solid metal at room temperature and it has a melting point of 1176°c and a boiling point of 2607°c.
FAQ's
G.T.Seaborg, R.A.James, L.O.Morgan, A.Ghiorso
1945
Uses
Americium-241 is currently used in smoke detectors.
Sources
Produced by bombarding plutonium with neutrons.
About the author
Nathan M
Nathan has a degree in BSc Biomedical Chemistry at Warwick University and a degree in PGCE Science at Wolverhampton University, UK. Nathan's subject matter ranges from general chemistry and organic chemistry. Nathan also created the curriculum on Breaking Atom in the course page.
Citation
Am
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