Polonium (symbol: Po) is a chemical element, one of the chalcogens. It is a silvery-white metal with a unique simple cubic structure,[1] although it is rare that polonium or its compounds are encountered in weighable quantities.
Polonium has no stable isotopes, and the metal and all its compounds are intensely radioactive. The power output due to the radioactive decay of polonium-210 is about 140 W g−1, which leads to considerable self-heating and which complicates the investigation of its properties with macroscopic quantities.[1]
Notes and references
Notes
- ↑ Atomic weight of polonium-210, which is by far the most commonly encountered isotope.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, A. Chemistry of the Elements; Pergamon: Oxford, 1984; pp 882–919. ISBN 0-08-022057-6.
- ↑ CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 62nd ed.; Weast, Robert C., Ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 1981; p E-65. ISBN 0-8493-0462-8.
Further reading
External links
