Radium (Ra)
Radium is an intensely radioactive element discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie. It glows faintly blue.
Properties of Radium
- Atomic number
- 88
- Category
- Alkaline Earth Metal
- Atomic mass
- 226 u
- Electron configuration
- [Rn] 7s²
- Melting point
- 973 K (699.85 °C)
- Boiling point
- 2010 K (1736.85 °C)
- Density
- 5.5 g/cm³
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- 0.9
- Appearance
- Silvery-white metallic
- Discovered by
- Marie Curie (1898)
Facts about Radium
- Radium glows a faint blue color in the dark!
- Marie Curie discovered radium and won TWO Nobel Prizes!
- Radium was once put in watch dials to make them glow — before people knew it was dangerous!
- The word "radioactivity" was actually coined by Marie Curie!