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Americium vs Californium


Californium vs Americium


Periodic Table

Symbol
Am   
Cf   

Group Number
Not Available   
Not Available   

Period Number
7   
7   

Block
f block   
f block   

Element Family
Actinide   
Actinide   

CAS Number
7440359   
99+
7440713   
20

Space Group Name
P63/mmc   
P63/mmc   

Space Group Number
194.00   
5
194.00   
5

Facts

Interesting Facts
  • Americium metal is produced by bombarding Plutonium with Neutrons.
  • Americium metal was discovered as a by-product while testing an atomic bomb (Manhattan Project).
  
  • Californium metal is very harmful and highly radioactive.
  • Californium metal is the heaviest metal.
  

Sources
Obtained By Bombarding Plutonium with Neutrons   
Made by Bombarding Curium with Helium Ions   

History
  
  

Who Discovered
Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, Leon O. Morgan, Albert Ghiorso   
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory   

Discovery
In 1944   
In 1950   

Abundance
  
  

Uses

Uses & Benefits
  • Americium metal is used in smoke detection alarms.
  • In the future, this metal has a potential to be used in batteries of spacecrafts.
  
  • Californium metal has a very strong neutron emitter. It is used as a metal detector.
  • It also used as an identifier to check Water and oil layers in oil wells.
  

Industrial Uses
NA   
Chemical Industry   

Medical Uses
NA   
NA   

Other Uses
Alloys, Nuclear Research, Research Purposes   
Alloys, Nuclear Research   

Biological Properties
  
  

Toxicity
Toxic   
Toxic   

Present in Human Body
No   
No   

In Blood
0.00 Blood/mg dm-3   
37
0.00 Blood/mg dm-3   
37

In Bone
0.00 p.p.m.   
36
0.00 p.p.m.   
36

Physical Properties

Melting Point
994.00 °C   
99+
900.00 °C   
99+

Boiling Point
2,607.00 °C   
99+
1,470.00 °C   
99+

Appearance
  
  

Physical State
Solid   
Solid   

Color
Silvery White   
Silver   

Luster
NA   
NA   

Hardness
  
  

Mohs Hardness
Not Available   
3.00   
12

Speed of Sound
Not Available   
Not Available   

Optical Properties
  
  

Allotropes
No   
No   

α Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

β Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

γ Allotropes
Not Available   
Not Available   

Chemical Properties

Chemical Formula
Am   
Cf   

Isotopes
  
  

Known Isotopes
16   
23
20   
19

Electronegativity
  
  

Pauling Electronegativity
1.30   
32
1.30   
32

Allred Rochow Electronegativity
1.20   
27
1.20   
27

Electropositivity
  
  

Pauling Electropositivity
2.70   
22
2.70   
22

Ionization Energies
  
  

1st Energy Level
578.00 kJ/mol   
99+
608.00 kJ/mol   
99+

2nd Energy Level
1,158.00 kJ/mol   
99+
1,206.00 kJ/mol   
99+

3rd Energy Level
2,132.00 kJ/mol   
99+
2,267.00 kJ/mol   
99+

4th Energy Level
3,493.00 kJ/mol   
99+
3,599.00 kJ/mol   
99+

Electrochemical Equivalent
3.02 g/amp-hr   
17
3.12 g/amp-hr   
15

Electron Work Function
Not Available   
Not Available   

Other Chemical Properties
Ionization, Radioactive Isotopes, Radioactivity, Solubility   
Corrosion, Ionization, Radioactive Isotopes, Radioactivity, Solubility   

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number
95   
23
98   
20

Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f7 7s2   
[Rn] 5f10 7s2   

Crystal Structure
Double Hexagonal Close Packed (DHCP)   
Double Hexagonal Close Packed (DHCP)   

Crystal Lattice
DHCP-Crystal-Structure-of-Americium.jpg#100   
DHCP-Crystal-Structure-of-Californium.jpg#100   

Atom
  
  

Number of Protons
95   
23
98   
20

Number of Neutrons
148   
12
153   
9

Number of Electrons
95   
23
98   
20

Radius of an Atom
  
  

Atomic Radius
173.00 pm   
21
186.00 pm   
9

Covalent Radius
180.00 pm   
21
Not Available   

Van der Waals Radius
244.00 pm   
10
Not Available   

Atomic Weight
243.00 amu   
20
251.00 amu   
17

Atomic Volume
17.86 cm3/mol   
29
Not Available   

Adjacent Atomic Numbers
  
  

Previous Element
Plutonium
  
Berkelium
  

Next Element
Curium
  

Valence Electron Potential
44.00 (-eV)   
40
44.50 (-eV)   
38

Lattice Constant
346.81 pm   
99+
338.00 pm   
99+

Lattice Angles
π/2, π/2, 2 π/3   
π/2, π/2, 2 π/3   

Lattice C/A Ratio
Not Available   
Not Available   

Mechanical Properties

Density
  
  

Density At Room Temperature
12.00 g/cm3   
30
15.10 g/cm3   
21

Tensile Strength
Not Available   
Not Available   

Viscosity
Not Available   
Not Available   

Vapor Pressure
  
  

Vapor Pressure at 1000 K
0.00 (Pa)   
13
Not Available   

Elasticity properties
  
  

Poisson Ratio
Not Available   
Not Available   

Other Mechanical Properties
NA   
Malleable, Sectile   

Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Characteristics
  
  

Specific Gravity
13.67   
15
15.10   
13

Magnetic Ordering
Paramagnetic   
Paramagnetic   

Electrical Properties
  
  

Resistivity
0.69 nΩ·m   
99+
Not Available   

Electrical Conductivity
0.02 106/cm Ω   
99+
Not Available   

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat
0.11 J/(kg K)   
99+
Not Available   

Molar Heat Capacity
62.70 J/mol·K   
1
Not Available   

Thermal Conductivity
10.00 W/m·K   
99+
Not Available   

Critical Temperature
Not Available   
Not Available   

Thermal Expansion
Not Available   
Not Available   

Enthalpy
  
  

Enthalpy of Fusion
14.39 kJ/mol   
24
Not Available   

Enthalpy of Atomization
268.00 kJ/mol   
40
Not Available   

Standard Molar Entropy
Not Available   
Not Available   

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