Curium facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Curium, ₉₆Cm

Curium
Pronunciation	/ˈkjʊəriəm/ ​(KEWR-ee-əm)
Appearance	silvery metallic, glows purple in the dark
Mass number	247
Curium in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson Gd ↑ Cm ↓ (Upn) americium ← curium → berkelium
Atomic number (Z)	96
Group	n/a
Period	period 7
Block	f
Electron configuration	[Rn] 5f7 6d1 7s2
Electrons per shell	2, 8, 18, 32, 25, 9, 2
Physical properties
Phase at STP	solid
Melting point	1613 K ​(1340 °C, ​2444 °F)
Boiling point	3383 K ​(3110 °C, ​5630 °F)
Density (near r.t.)	13.51 g/cm3
Heat of fusion	13.85 kJ/mol
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 1788 1982
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	+2, +3, +4, +5, +6, (an amphoteric oxide)
Electronegativity	Pauling scale: 1.3
Ionization energies	1st: 581 kJ/mol
Atomic radius	empirical: 174 pm
Covalent radius	169±3 pm
Spectral lines of curium
Other properties
Natural occurrence	synthetic
Crystal structure	​double hexagonal close-packed (dhcp)
Electrical resistivity	1.25 µΩ⋅m
Magnetic ordering	antiferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition at 52 K
CAS Number	7440-51-9
History
Naming	named after Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie
Discovery	Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, Albert Ghiorso (1944)
Main isotopes of curium
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 242Cm syn 160 d SF – α 238Pu 243Cm syn 29.1 y α 6.169 239Pu ε 0.009 243Am SF – – 244Cm syn 18.1 y SF – α 240Pu 245Cm syn 8500 y SF – α 241Pu 246Cm syn 4730 y α 242Pu SF – 247Cm syn 1.56×107 y α 243Pu 248Cm syn 3.40×105 y α 244Pu SF – 250Cm syn 9000 y SF – – α 5.169 246Pu β− 0.037 250Bk

Curium is a special chemical element that scientists have created. It's a type of metal that is also radioactive, meaning it gives off energy. Its chemical symbol is Cm, and its atomic number is 96. Curium belongs to a family of metals called the actinides.

Curium is a transuranic element, which means it's heavier than uranium and doesn't exist naturally on Earth. It has to be made in a laboratory. This silver-colored metal is created by shooting tiny particles called alpha particles (which are like helium ions) at a piece of plutonium. Curium was named in honor of the famous scientists Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie, who were pioneers in studying radioactivity.

Discovering Curium

Curium was first made in 1944 by a team of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. This team was led by Glenn T. Seaborg. They used a special machine called a cyclotron to create this new element.

The scientists made curium by bombarding a very small amount of plutonium with alpha particles. This process changed the plutonium atoms into curium atoms. It was a very exciting discovery because it showed that new elements could be made in the lab.

What is Curium Like?

Curium is a shiny, silver-colored metal. It's quite hard and dense. One of its most important features is that it's very radioactive. This means it constantly gives off tiny particles and energy.

Because it's so radioactive, curium actually glows in the dark! This glow comes from the energy it releases. This strong radioactivity also means it gets very hot. Scientists have to handle curium with extreme care to stay safe.

How Curium is Used

Curium is not an element you'll find in everyday life. Because it's so difficult and expensive to make, and because it's very radioactive, it's mostly used in scientific research.

One important use for curium is in radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs). These are like small nuclear batteries that can power spacecraft or remote scientific equipment. For example, some Mars rovers have used similar power sources. Curium's radioactivity can also be used to create heat for these generators.

Scientists also use curium to study the properties of other heavy elements. Its radioactivity can be used as a source of alpha particles for experiments. It's also been detected in the fallout from nuclear tests, showing its presence in such events.

Safety with Curium

Working with curium is very dangerous because it is highly radioactive. The radiation it gives off can be harmful to living things. This is why it can only be handled in special laboratories with strict safety rules.

Scientists use special equipment and protective gear to make sure they are safe when studying curium. They keep it in thick containers to block the radiation. This careful handling ensures that the powerful properties of curium can be studied safely.

Images for kids

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  Glenn T. Seaborg, one of the lead scientists who discovered curium.

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  The 60-inch (150 cm) cyclotron at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, in August 1939. This machine was used to create new elements.

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  A model showing the crystal structure of α-curium.

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  The orange fluorescence of Cm3+ ions in a solution, showing how curium can glow.

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  A solution containing curium.

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  Several types of curium were found in the fallout from the Ivy Mike nuclear test.

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  Chromatographic curves showing how curium (Cm) is similar to other elements.

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  A predicted structure of a molecule containing curium.

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  The strong radiation from curium makes the metal glow purple in the dark.

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  An Alpha-particle X-ray spectrometer, like those used on Mars rovers, which can use elements like curium.

See also

In Spanish: Curio para niños