Polonium

Polonium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Po and atomic number 84. A rare radioactive metalloid, polonium is chemically similar to tellurium and bismuth and occurs in uranium ores. Polonium had been studied for possible use in heating spacecraft.

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This radioactive substance dissolves readily in dilute acids, but is only slightly soluble in alkalis. It is closely related chemically to bismuth and tellurium. Polonium is a volatile metal with 50% being vaporized in air after 45 hours at 328 K. Polonium has no stable isotopes and has over 50 potential isotopes. Polonium is extremely toxic and highly radioactive. Polonium has been found in tobacco smoke as a contaminant and in uranium ores.

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....