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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 ]
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 ...
210 Po is widely used in industry, and readily available with little regulation or restriction. [100] [101] In the US, a tracking system run by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was implemented in 2007 to register purchases of more than 16 curies (590 GBq) of polonium-210 (enough to make up 5,000 lethal doses). The IAEA "is said to be ...
There are 42 isotopes of polonium (84 Po). They range in size from 186 to 227 nucleons. They are all radioactive. 210 Po with a half-life of 138.376 days has the longest half-life of any naturally-occurring isotope of polonium and is the most common isotope of polonium. It is also the most easily synthesized polonium isotope.
Lead-bismuth produces a considerable amount of polonium-210 from neutron activation of bismuth-209. This radioactive element will dissolve in the lead-bismuth, and is an alpha emitter with a half-life of 138.38 days. This can seriously complicate maintenance and pose a severe plant alpha-contamination problem. The alpha particle emitted by 210
[2] [3] A small amount of polonium-210 (50 curies, 11 mg) was deposited in the grooves of the shell and on the central sphere: the layers of gold and nickel served to shield the beryllium from alpha particles emitted by the polonium. The whole urchin weighed about 7 grams and was attached to mounting brackets in a 2.5 cm diameter inner cavity ...
Soviet missions have used other isotopes, such as the polonium-210 heat source used in the Lunokhod lunar rovers. [6] [7] With a half-life of 138.376 days, polonium-210 produces more thermal power per unit mass, but is suitable only for shorter duration missions. Strontium-90 has also been proposed. [7]
Polonium is dangerous as an alpha particle emitter. If ingested, polonium-210 is a million times as toxic as hydrogen cyanide by weight; it has been used as a murder weapon in the past, most famously to kill Alexander Litvinenko. [2] Polonium poisoning can cause nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and lymphopenia.