Page 46 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

Cr see Chromium; Cs see Cesium; Cu see Copper Curium (Cm)
Element 96. Curium is a silvery radioactive rare-earth metal in
the actinide series in the Periodic Table. It is similar to uranium, plutonium and americium. Curium is chemically reactive, being more reactive than aluminium.
Curium is produced synthetically. Its compounds include curium fluoride, curium chloride, curium bromide, curium iodide and
curium oxide.
Discovery
It was discovered in 1944 by Glenn
T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James and Albert Ghiorso, using a nuclear reactor to bombard plutonium with accelerated particles.
Technology
It is radioactive and is used in space vehicles because it can provide a compact, long- lived source of electricity. Curium-242 has been used on lunar missions to bombard the surface of the Moon with alpha particles. That helped scientists to understand the range and quantity of chemical elements
in the Moon’s loose surface materials.
Geology
Curium probably occurs in uranium ores in tiny amounts but has never been isolated from natural substances.
Biology
Curium has no biological role. It gives out an extremely toxic form of radiation that can be absorbed by the bones and can disrupt red cell formation.
Key facts...
Name: curium
Symbol: Cm
Atomic number: 96
Atomic weight: 247
Position in Periodic Table: inner transition metal;
period 7 (actinide series)
State at room temperature: solid
Colour: silvery
Density of solid: 13.51 g/cc
Melting point: 1,340°C
Boiling point: 3,110°C
Origin of name: it was named after Marie Curie. Shell pattern of electrons: 2–8–18–32–25–9–2
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