What is Radium?

Radium is a very radioactive element ^[1] , which is located in the seventh periodic table of the chemical element, group IIA, atomic number 88, and the element symbol Ra. Pure metallic radium is almost colorless, but when exposed to air, it reacts with nitrogen to produce black radium nitride (Ra3N2). All isotopes of radium are strongly radioactive. The most stable isotope is radium-226, which has a half-life of about 1600 years and decays into thorium-222. When radium decays, it generates ionizing radiation, which makes fluorescent substances emit light. It was a new element discovered by Madame Curie, and the discovery of radium contributed greatly to science.

After Berkeler's pioneering observations and research on the radioactive material of uranium, it was discovered that uranium's rays are like X-rays, which can make air and other gases conductive, and plutonium compounds have also been found to have Similar properties. From 1896, Madame Curie and her husband made a systematic discovery ^[4]

CAS number: 7440-14-4 ^[5]

radium

Crystal structure:

It exists in a variety of ores and mineral springs, but its content is extremely rare, and most of it comes from asphalt uranium ore. When processing bituminous ore to extract uranium, radium is often recovered in the form of sulfate together with barium in acid-insoluble residues. At that time, the Curie couples refined 0.1 g of radium in 3 years and 9 months ^[1]

After the radioactive element decays for a period of time (different decay rates of various elements), different substances will be produced. Radium is one of them.

Radium emits both alpha and gamma rays and generates radioactive gas plutonium.

The radiation emitted by radium can destroy and kill cells and bacteria. Therefore, it is often used to treat cancer and the like. In addition, a mixed preparation of radium salt and beryllium powder ^[7] can be used as a neutron radiation source to detect petroleum resources and rock composition.

Radium is one of the materials of the atomic bomb. Older fluorescent paint also contains a small amount of radium. Neutron bombardment of radium-225 can obtain radon.

Use of radium isotopes to find uranium in paleochannels ^[8] .