CALIFORNIUM
Californium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol "Cf" and atomic number 98. Its pure form is soft and can be easily cut with a knife. It is insoluble in water but adheres well to the soil, and therefore its concentration in the soil can be 500 times greater than the water surrounding that soil. Californium is a silvery white colored, actinite metal with a melting point of 900 ± 30 °C and a boiling point of 1745 °C. It was first produced by bombarding Curium with alpha particles (helium ions) in a laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley in February 1950. It is the ninth member of the actinide series and the sixth trans-uranium element to be synthesized. In elements with a high atomic weight, it is the second element that can be produced, the amount of which can be seen with the naked eye, after aynchtaynium. The Element was so named in honor of the University of California and the state of California where it was discovered. Californium-252 has a number of specific applications as a powerful neutron emitter, with each microgramme of fresh Californium producing 139 million neutrons per minute.
This feature allows Californium to be used as a neutron starter source in some nuclear reactors. Neutrons produced by Californium are used to treat some cervical and brain cancer patients where any radiation therapy is ineffective. According to its production, only two plants today produce Californium-252. These are the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States and the atomic reactors Research Institute in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. Since 2003, these two plants have been producing 0.25 grams and 0.025 grams of Californium-252 each year, respectively. Of course, caution should be exercised when working with the element Californium, because ionizing radiation from the material on the bone and liver can cause cancer. It can also cause external tissue damage through gamma ray emission. Once accumulated in the body, it can take 50 years to remove from the skeleton and 20 years to remove from the liver.
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