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Americium vs Thorium


Thorium vs Americium


Periodic Table

Symbol
Am   
Th   

Group Number
Not Available   
0   
18

Period Number
7   
7   

Block
f block   
f block   

Element Family
Actinide   
Actinide   

CAS Number
7440359   
99+
7440326   
99+

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).
  
  • Thorium metal is used as an alternate option over Uranium for nuclear fuel.
  • Thorium metals appearance (silvery white, soft) is somewhat similar to Lead metal.
  

Sources
Obtained By Bombarding Plutonium with Neutrons   
Found in Minerals, Mining   

History
  
  

Who Discovered
Glenn T. Seaborg, Ralph A. James, Leon O. Morgan, Albert Ghiorso   
Jöns Jakob Berzelius   

Discovery
In 1944   
In 1829   

Abundance
  
  

Abundance In Universe
Not Available   
3 * 10-4 %   
9

Abundance In Sun
~-9999 %   
~0.0004 %   
9

Abundance In Meteorites
Not Available   
0.05 %   
11

Abundance In Earth's Crust
Not Available   
0.66 %   
7

Abundance In Oceans
Not Available   
0.00 %   
15

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.
  
  • Thorium metal is used as an allying agent for Magnesium, It imparts greater strength and resistance to temperature.
  • compound of this metal Thorium oxide is used as an industrial catalyst.
  

Industrial Uses
NA   
Aerospace Industry, Automobile Industry, Chemical Industry, Electrical Industry, Electronic Industry   

Medical Uses
NA   
Dentistry, Surgical Instruments Manufacturing   

Other Uses
Alloys, Nuclear Research, Research Purposes   
Alloys, Jewellery, Sculptures, Statues   

Biological Properties
  
  

Toxicity
Toxic   
Non Toxic   

Present in Human Body
No   
Yes   

In Blood
0.00 Blood/mg dm-3   
37
0.00 Blood/mg dm-3   
33

In Bone
0.00 p.p.m.   
36
0.02 p.p.m.   
29

Physical Properties

Melting Point
994.00 °C   
99+
1,750.00 °C   
17

Boiling Point
2,607.00 °C   
99+
4,790.00 °C   
8

Appearance
  
  

Physical State
Solid   
Solid   

Color
Silvery White   
Silver   

Luster
NA   
NA   

Hardness
  
  

Mohs Hardness
Not Available   
3.00   
12

Brinell Hardness
Not Available   
390.00 MPa   
29

Vickers Hardness
Not Available   
295.00 MPa   
29

Speed of Sound
Not Available   
2,490.00 m/s   
36

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   
Th   

Isotopes
  
  

Known Isotopes
16   
23
28   
11

Electronegativity
  
  

Pauling Electronegativity
1.30   
32
1.30   
32

Allred Rochow Electronegativity
1.20   
27
1.11   
29

Electropositivity
  
  

Pauling Electropositivity
2.70   
22
2.70   
22

Ionization Energies
  
  

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

2nd Energy Level
1,158.00 kJ/mol   
99+
1,110.00 kJ/mol   
99+

3rd Energy Level
2,132.00 kJ/mol   
99+
1,978.00 kJ/mol   
99+

4th Energy Level
3,493.00 kJ/mol   
99+
2,780.00 kJ/mol   
99+

Electrochemical Equivalent
3.02 g/amp-hr   
17
2.16 g/amp-hr   
24

Electron Work Function
Not Available   
3.41 eV   
32

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

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number
95   
23
90   
28

Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f7 7s2   
[Rn] 6d2 7s2   

Crystal Structure
Double Hexagonal Close Packed (DHCP)   
Face Centered Cubic (FCC)   

Crystal Lattice
DHCP-Crystal-Structure-of-Americium.jpg#100   
FCC-Crystal-Structure-of-Thorium.jpg#100   

Atom
  
  

Number of Protons
95   
23
90   
28

Number of Neutrons
148   
12
142   
15

Number of Electrons
95   
23
90   
28

Radius of an Atom
  
  

Atomic Radius
173.00 pm   
21
179.80 pm   
15

Covalent Radius
180.00 pm   
21
206.00 pm   
7

Van der Waals Radius
244.00 pm   
10
237.00 pm   
15

Atomic Weight
243.00 amu   
20
232.04 amu   
23

Atomic Volume
17.86 cm3/mol   
29
19.90 cm3/mol   
20

Adjacent Atomic Numbers
  
  

Previous Element
Plutonium
  
Actinium
  

Next Element
Curium
  

Valence Electron Potential
44.00 (-eV)   
40
59.30 (-eV)   
23

Lattice Constant
346.81 pm   
99+
508.42 pm   
14

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

Lattice C/A Ratio
Not Available   
Not Available   

Mechanical Properties

Density
  
  

Density At Room Temperature
12.00 g/cm3   
30
11.72 g/cm3   
32

Tensile Strength
Not Available   
Not Available   

Viscosity
Not Available   
Not Available   

Vapor Pressure
  
  

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

Vapor Pressure at 2000 K
Not Available   
0.00 (Pa)   
22

Elasticity properties
  
  

Shear Modulus
Not Available   
31.00 GPa   
21

Bulk Modulus
Not Available   
54.00 GPa   
22

Young's Modulus
Not Available   
79.00 GPa   
24

Poisson Ratio
Not Available   
0.27   
20

Other Mechanical Properties
NA   
Ductile   

Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Characteristics
  
  

Specific Gravity
13.67   
15
11.70   
23

Magnetic Ordering
Paramagnetic   
Paramagnetic   

Electrical Properties
  
  

Electrical Property
Unknown   
Superconductor   

Resistivity
0.69 nΩ·m   
99+
157.00 nΩ·m   
22

Electrical Conductivity
0.02 106/cm Ω   
99+
0.07 106/cm Ω   
31

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat
0.11 J/(kg K)   
99+
0.12 J/(kg K)   
40

Molar Heat Capacity
62.70 J/mol·K   
1
26.23 J/mol·K   
30

Thermal Conductivity
10.00 W/m·K   
99+
54.00 W/m·K   
28

Critical Temperature
Not Available   
Not Available   

Thermal Expansion
Not Available   
11.00 µm/(m·K)   
36

Enthalpy
  
  

Enthalpy of Vaporization
Not Available   
429.00 kJ/mol   
15

Enthalpy of Fusion
14.39 kJ/mol   
24
15.48 kJ/mol   
19

Enthalpy of Atomization
268.00 kJ/mol   
40
468.60 kJ/mol   
15

Standard Molar Entropy
Not Available   
27.30 J/mol.K   
99+

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