البولونيوم (Po 210)‎

Abstract EN

Polonium first discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898 while they were investigating the cause of pitchblende radioactivity.

The pitchblende, after removal of the radioactive elements, uranium and thorium, was more radioactive than both the uranium and thorium put together.

This spurred the Curies on to find additional radioactive elements.

Applications of polonium are few, and include heaters in space probes, antistatic devices, and sources of neutrons and alpha particles.

Polonium is a radioactive element and is rare.

It is produced only by countries which have reactors with high neutron flux.

Russia is one of the most productive countries and the use of polonium is in industrial applications.

A highly toxic polonium due to release of alpha particles destroys the immune system in humans.

Polonium is very dangerous and requires special equipments and strict methods while dealing with it and even if it is taken in very small amounts, as enough 10 micrograms of polonium to kill an adult, not to be dead directly, but polonium remains in the human body for a period of 50 days then it cascades down the body and deteriorates human health to die within 30 days.