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Polonium is element 84 on the Periodic Table. It is so toxic and radioactive that exposure to very small amounts can be fatal.
Natural Occurence[]
Unfortunately, it is found in tobacco, which can harm the body even more, let alone all of the other ingredients like lead, cadmium, and nicotine.
Applications[]
Its high radioactivity makes it useful in anti-static brushes, where a layer of bismuth is slipped inside two thin layers silver and gold foil. A laser is shot through the foil and transmutes the bismuth into polonium. It is also used in nuclear reactors to initiate the reaction.
It was used in a nuclear bomb, as the isotope plutonium-239. This was the most powerful bomb used in war, and it was detonated in Nagasaki, Japan in WWII.
Illegal Use[]
Polonium was used in 2006 to assassinate Alexander Litvenenko, with tea laced with poloniun-210
References[]
Non-Internet Sources[]
- The Periodic Table of Elements by Theodore Gray
External links[]
None yet
Etymology[]
Polonium was named after the country of Poland after being discovered by Marie Curie.
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