Tag: Marie Curie

A highly radioactive Alkaline Earth Metal, Radium is mostly phased out of modern usage due to the hazards of working with it, and owning it. None the less, it is known for its radioluminescence capability.

Quick Facts

Atomic Number	88
Atomic Mass	226
Melting Point	700 C
Boiling Point	1737 C
Density	5.5g/cm3
Discovered By	Marie and Pierre Curie
Year Discovered	1898 (Isolated 1910)

History of Radium

Discovered by the Curie’s, Radium was originally looked at as a “Miracle” element that could help create long lasting glow in the dark materials that to this day brilliantly glow. It was also pressed into service as a cosmetic, toothpastes, and in radium water for vitality. Because it had so much extra energy, and because we didn’t understand the idea of radiation sickness yet, we used it everywhere. This was unfortunately not a great idea.

In the 1920’s the girls who were painting the dials started developing severe damage to their faces as they would lick the tip of the brushes that they used to help straighten out the bristles. This led to damage to the bones and cancers.

It was also used for cancer treatment though, a job it still sometimes is used for to this day. Alas, due to the tragic deaths of some people, radium was phased out of heavy usage and is now heavily restricted. With that said, if your grandparents have an old glow in the dark clock, and it glows very brightly, it might be wise to break out the Geiger-counter because you might have a rare Radium Clock.

Where it’s used today

Radium is a reliable radioactive source and so it is used for Radio-Clocks that use decay to tell time. It also sees usage as a industrial radiography machine that looks for flaws in metallic parts like an X-ray. It is often mixed with beryllium to act as a neutron source. It’s most common job though is to act as a material to enrich to create other synthetic elements.

For the most part though, Radium is only used in very special cases and has been phased out and it is not actively mined since the 1970’s. Almost all Radium is now recycled from prior usage. It is also considered one of the most toxic of radioactive elements, even more dangerous to your health than Plutonium and Americium.