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Radium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather than oxygen) upon exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride (Ra 3 N 2).
The longest lived isotope of radium is radium-226 with a half-life of 1600 years; it along with radium-223, -224, and -228 occur naturally in the decay chains of primordial thorium and uranium. Beryllium-8 is notable by its absence as it splits in half virtually instantaneously into two alpha particles whenever it is formed.
A chemical element, often simply called an element, is a type of atom which has a specific number of protons in its atomic nucleus (i.e., a specific atomic number, or Z). [ 1 ] The definitive visualisation of all 118 elements is the periodic table of the elements , whose history along the principles of the periodic law was one of the founding ...
This named isotope later became the official name for element 88. RaA: Radium A: 84: From radium and A. Placeholder name given at one time to 218 Po, an isotope of polonium identified in the decay chain of radium. RaB: Radium B: 82: From radium and B. Placeholder name given at one time to 214 Pb, an isotope of lead identified in the decay chain ...
Each chemical element has a unique atomic number (Z— for "Zahl", German for "number") representing the number of protons in its nucleus. [4] Each distinct atomic number therefore corresponds to a class of atom: these classes are called the chemical elements. [5] The chemical elements are what the periodic table classifies and organizes.
It was originally defined as "the quantity or mass of radium emanation in equilibrium with one gram of radium (element)", [1] but is currently defined as 1 Ci = 3.7 × 10 10 decays per second [4] after more accurate measurements of the activity of 226 Ra (which has a specific activity of 3.66 × 10 10 Bq/g [5]).
Pages in category "Radium" The following 18 pages are in this category, out of 18 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ...
Radium (88 Ra) has no stable or nearly stable isotopes, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. The longest lived, and most common, isotope of radium is 226 Ra with a half-life of 1600 years. 226 Ra occurs in the decay chain of 238 U (often referred to as the radium series). Radium has 34 known isotopes from 201 Ra to 234 Ra.