Polonium (Po)

Polonium is a rare and highly radioactive metal with no stable isotopes, discovered by Marie Curie.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Marie and Pierre Curie discovered polonium in 1898 in pitchblende residues, and Marie named it after her homeland, Poland.
• Polonium-210 is such an intense alpha emitter that a gram heats itself to over 500 degrees Celsius.
• It has served in anti-static brushes and as a heat source in spacecraft, and it became infamous in the 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.

Specifications & Metrics

• NUM: 84
• SYMBOL: Po
• CATEGORY: Post-transition Metal