Radium chloride is insoluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid and in alcohol. The salts of radium are colourless and nearly all soluble in water the sulphate and carbonate are insoluble. With an atomic number 88, it is the last term of the alkaline earth series. Radium is placed by its atomic weight 226, in the second column of the Mendelyeev table. Spectrum.-If we do not consider the chemical actions of the radiations it emits, radium has exactly the properties that can be expected from its place in chemical classification. Though radium is only one of numerous radioactive substances, being neither the most radioactive nor the most abundant, its rate of decay and the nature of the products of its disintegration have proved particularly favourable in the applications of radioactivity, and make it the most important of radioelements. This radioactive property confers on radium a special importance for scientific purposes or for medical use, and is also the cause of the extreme rarity of the element. It is a metal having many analogies with barium and it is also a “radioactive substance”, i.e., a substance that suffers a spontaneous disintegration accompanied by the emission of radiation ( see RADIOACTIVITY). is an element of atomic weight 226, the highest term in the alkaline earth series, calcium, strontium, barium. The article mentions only in passing that the radioactivity emitted by radium causes “a selective destruction of certain cells and can have very dangerous consequences”-a property sadly demonstrated in later years when Marie Curie and then Irène Curie died of leukemia possibly brought on by exposure to such radiation. The article recounts Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of radium and discusses its properties, production, and applications. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!įor the 13th edition (1926) of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Marie Curie, cowinner of the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics and winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, wrote the entry on radium with her daughter Irène Curie, later Irène Joliot-Curie and cowinner of the 1935 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |