Discovered | Name | Characteristics | Uses | Isotopes

Polonium is a metal in Group VIA (Group 16) and the 6th period. Other elements in the group are oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), and tellurium (Te).

Marie Curie isolated the element in 1898 only after processing a huge quantity of uranium ore. The element is named after her native country, Poland.

Polonium--210, which can be made synthetically in milligram quantities, is a low-melting, fairly volatile metal. It is an alpha emitter with a half-life of 139 days. Alpha emission is so intense that a blue glow from ionized air surrounds the container. Because almost all of the alpha emission is absorbed by the sample and its container, they become very warm. This had led to suggestions that 210Po be used as the heat source for thermoelectric power in space applications.

Polonium has no stable isotopes; all are radioactive. It is also exceedingly rare. Uranium ores contain only about 100 micrograms per ton.