Curium

Symbol: Cm
Atomic number: 96
Category: actinides
Group: n/a
Period: 7
Block: f
Atomic weight: (247) g/mol
Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 18, 32, 25, 9, 2
CAS number: 7440-51-9
Phase: solid
Density: 13.51 kg/dm³ (near room temperature)
Melting point: 1613 K (1340 °C, 2444 °F)
Boiling point: 3383 K (3110 °C, 5630 °F)
Crystal structure: hexagonal close-packed
Oxidation states: 3
Electronegativity: 1.3 (Pauling scale)
Name's origin: Marie and Pierre Curie
Name's meaning: the physicists who discovered new elements (not curium though)
Facts:
- is a synthetic chemical element
- a radioactive metallic transuranic element
- is produced by bombarding plutonium with alpha particles (helium ions)
- 19 radioisotopes of curium have been characterized, with the most stable being curium-247 with a half-life of 1.56 x 10⁷ years
- the isotope curium-248 has been synthesized only in milligram quantities, but curium-242 and curium-244 have been made in the order of kilograms to date
- there are few commercial applications for curium but it may one day be useful in radioisotope thermoelectric generators
- curium bio-accumulates in bone tissue where its radiation destroys bone marrow and thus stops red blood cell creation
- is silvery-white in color and the element is more electro-positive than aluminium