Astatine

Astatine is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol At and atomic number 85. This radioactive element occurs naturally from uranium and thorium decay and is the heaviest of the halogens.

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This highly radioactive element has been confirmed by mass spectrometers to behave chemically much like other halogens, especially iodine (it probably accumulates in the thyroid gland like iodine). Astatine is thought to be more metallic than iodine. Researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory have performed experiments that have identified and measured elementary reactions that involve astatine.

Chemical element: A chemical element, often called simply element, is the class of atoms which contain the same number of protons....

Periodic table: The periodic table of the chemical elements, also called the Mendeleev periodic table, is a tabular display of the known chemical elements. First created by Dmitri Mendeleev, the elements are arranged by electron configuration so that many chemical properties follow a regular pattern across the tabl...

Atomic number: The atomic number (Z) is a term used in chemistry and physics to represent the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom. In an atom of neutral charge, the number of electrons typically equals the atomic number....