Radium facts for kids
Radium is a special chemical element with the atomic number 88. Its symbol on the periodic table is Ra. It's known for being very radioactive, which means it gives off energy.
When it's first found, radium is an almost pure-white metal. But if it touches air, it quickly turns black. This happens because it reacts with oxygen. All types of radium are radioactive. Because of this, it glows a faint blue color.
How Radium Was Found
A famous scientist named Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, discovered radium in 1898. They found it while working with a substance called radium chloride. It was a big moment in science!
How Radium Was Used
Radium was once used in many things. One common use was in luminous watches. These watches had hands and numbers that glowed in the dark. This glow came from the radium inside them.
However, using radium in these products was later stopped. This was because it could cause serious health problems. People who were exposed to radium for a long time could get very sick. This is called radiation poisoning.
A sad story involves a group of women known as the Radium Girls. They painted the glowing numbers on watches using radium. Because of their long exposure to the element, they suffered from many health issues. This led to a lawsuit and new safety rules.
Today, radium is still used in some important ways. For example, it can be used in treating certain types of cancer.
| Group | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen & alkali metals |
Alkaline earth metals | Triels | Tetrels | Pnictogens | Chalcogens | Halogens | Noble gases |
||||||||||||
| Period |
|||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  |
||||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Primordial From decay Synthetic Border shows natural occurrence of the element
- Ca: 40.078 — Abridged value (uncertainty omitted here)
- Po: [209] — mass number of the most stable isotope
Images for kids
-
Outlook of radium (Ra-226)
-
Marie and Pierre Curie experimenting with radium, a drawing by André Castaigne
-
Glass tube of radium chloride kept by the US Bureau of Standards that served as the primary standard of radioactivity for the United States in 1927.
-
Self-luminous white paint which contains radium on the face and hand of an old clock.
-
Radium watch hands under ultraviolet light
-
Hotel postcard advertising radium baths, c.1940s
-
Ad for Radior cosmetics which the manufacturer claimed contained radium, that was supposed to have health benefits for one's skin. Powders, skin creams and soap were part of this line.
-
Monument to the Discovery of Radium in Jáchymov
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Radio (elemento) para niños
