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Polonium-210 (210 Po, Po-210, historically radium F) is an isotope of polonium. It undergoes alpha decay to stable 206 Pb with a half-life of 138.376 days (about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 months), the longest half-life of all naturally occurring polonium isotopes ( 210–218 Po). [ 1 ]
Diagram of an RTG used on the Cassini probe. A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), sometimes referred to as a radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioactive material into electricity by the Seebeck effect.
The short half-life of polonium (138.376 days) required frequent replacement of initiators and a continued supply of polonium for their manufacture, as their shelf life was only about 4 months. [6] Later designs had shelf life as long as 1 year. The US government used "Postum" as a code name for polonium. [7]
Diagram of a radioisotope heater unit. A radioisotope heater unit (RHU) is a small device that provides heat through radioactive decay. [1] They are similar to tiny radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) and normally provide about one watt of heat each, derived from the decay of a few grams of plutonium-238—although other radioactive isotopes could be used.
Polonium-210 in tobacco contributes to many of the cases of lung cancer worldwide. Most of this polonium is derived from lead-210 deposited on tobacco leaves from the atmosphere; the lead-210 is a product of radon-222 gas, much of which appears to originate from the decay of radium-226 from fertilizers applied to the tobacco soils.
Organopolonium chemistry describes the synthesis and properties of chemical compounds containing a carbon to polonium chemical bond.. As polonium is a highly radioactive element (its most commonly used isotope, 210 Po, has a half-life of about 138 days), organopolonium chemistry is mostly unexplored, and what is known is mostly confined to tracer-level studies due to self-destruction and ...
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Scaramella tests positive for polonium-210 and is admitted into a hospital. Litvinenko's widow also tests positive for polonium-210, but was not sent to the hospital for treatment. 2 December: Scotland Yard's counter-terrorist unit have questioned Yuri Shvets, a former KGB spy who emigrated to the United States in 1993. He was questioned as a ...