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The amount of americium in a typical new smoke detector is 0.29 micrograms (4.5 × 10 −6 grains) (about 1/3000 the weight of a small grain of sand) with an activity of 1 microcurie (37 kBq). Some old industrial smoke detectors (notably from the Pyrotronics Corporation) can contain up to 80 microcuries (3,000 kBq).
An ionization smoke detector uses a radioisotope, typically americium-241, to ionize air; a difference due to smoke is detected and an alarm is generated. Ionization detectors are more sensitive to the flaming stage of fires than optical detectors, while optical detectors are more sensitive to fires in the early smouldering stage.
Americium is used in the most common type of household smoke detector, which uses 241 Am in the form of americium dioxide as its source of ionizing radiation. [101] This isotope is preferred over 226 Ra because it emits 5 times more alpha particles and relatively little harmful gamma radiation.
Americium-241 is the most common isotope of americium in nuclear waste. [8] It is the isotope used in an americium smoke detector based on an ionization chamber . It is a potential fuel for long-lifetime radioisotope thermoelectric generators .
Americium-241 has been used as a source of low energy gamma photons, it has been used in some applications such as portable X-ray fluorescence equipment and common household ionizing smoke detectors. Americium-241 is produced from 239
An episode of the CBS series Young Sheldon features the protagonist attempting to build a nuclear reactor by extracting americium from smoke detectors. Episode 6 of season 6 of Mysteries at the Museum features a segment about Hahn's nuclear experiment entitled "Radioactive Boy Scout" which originally aired October 24, 2014.
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