polonium

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“
Due to its instability, however, polonium-210 is not used for this purpose.

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Definitions (4)

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  1. noun A naturally radioactive metallic element, occurring in minute quantities as a product of radium disintegration and produced by bombarding bismuth or lead with neutrons. It has 27 isotopes ranging in mass number from 192 to 218, of which Po 210, with a half-life of 138.39 days, is the most readily available. Atomic number 84; melting point 254°C; boiling point 962°C; specific gravity 9.32; valence 2, 4. See Table at element.

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Examples (50)

  • Some of what remains includes hydrogen cyanide, butane, toluene, arsenic, lead, carbon monoxide, and polonium-210.
  • You might have seen his monograph, prior obsession with the Litvinenko polonium-210 poisoning case, this op-ed in IHT, —  ArmsControlWonk
  • The "highly radioactive carcinogen" she was referring to is polonium-210. —  Junkfood Science
  • A smoker who smokes a pack of 20 cigarettes a day takes in about 0.72 picocuries of polonium-210. —  Junkfood Science
  • Nobel prize winner Rutherford carried out experiments in the building from 1906 using radon and polonium, similar to the material that killed Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko two years ago. —  xml's Blinklist.com
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Etymologies (2)

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  1. From Medieval Latin Polōnia, Poland (the native country of Pierre and Marie Curie, the element's discoverers).

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  1. New Latin, from Polonia, Poland.
 

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/pəˈloʊniəm/
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