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Californium Thorium Comparison


Thorium Californium comparison


Periodic Table

Symbol
Cf   
Th   

Group Number
Not Available   
0   
18

Period Number
7   
7   

Block
f block   
f block   

Element Family
Actinide   
Actinide   

CAS Number
7440713   
20
7440326   
99+

Space Group Name
P63/mmc   
P63/mmc   

Space Group Number
194.00   
5
194.00   
5

Facts

Interesting Facts
  • Californium metal is very harmful and highly radioactive.
  • Californium metal is the heaviest metal.
  
  • 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
Made by Bombarding Curium with Helium Ions   
Found in Minerals, Mining   

History
  
  

Who Discovered
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory   
Jöns Jakob Berzelius   

Discovery
In 1950   
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
  • 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.
  
  • 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
Chemical Industry   
Aerospace Industry, Automobile Industry, Chemical Industry, Electrical Industry, Electronic Industry   

Medical Uses
NA   
Dentistry, Surgical Instruments Manufacturing   

Other Uses
Alloys, Nuclear Research   
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
900.00 °C   
99+
1,750.00 °C   
17

Boiling Point
1,470.00 °C   
99+
4,790.00 °C   
8

Appearance
  
  

Physical State
Solid   
Solid   

Color
Silver   
Silver   

Luster
NA   
NA   

Hardness
  
  

Mohs Hardness
3.00   
12
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
Cf   
Th   

Isotopes
  
  

Known Isotopes
20   
19
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
608.00 kJ/mol   
99+
587.00 kJ/mol   
99+

2nd Energy Level
1,206.00 kJ/mol   
99+
1,110.00 kJ/mol   
99+

3rd Energy Level
2,267.00 kJ/mol   
99+
1,978.00 kJ/mol   
99+

4th Energy Level
3,599.00 kJ/mol   
99+
2,780.00 kJ/mol   
99+

Electrochemical Equivalent
3.12 g/amp-hr   
15
2.16 g/amp-hr   
24

Electron Work Function
Not Available   
3.41 eV   
32

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

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number
98   
20
90   
28

Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f10 7s2   
[Rn] 6d2 7s2   

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

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

Atom
  
  

Number of Protons
98   
20
90   
28

Number of Neutrons
153   
9
142   
15

Number of Electrons
98   
20
90   
28

Radius of an Atom
  
  

Atomic Radius
186.00 pm   
9
179.80 pm   
15

Covalent Radius
Not Available   
206.00 pm   
7

Van der Waals Radius
Not Available   
237.00 pm   
15

Atomic Weight
251.00 amu   
17
232.04 amu   
23

Atomic Volume
Not Available   
19.90 cm3/mol   
20

Adjacent Atomic Numbers
  
  

Previous Element
Berkelium
  
Actinium
  

Next Element

Valence Electron Potential
44.50 (-eV)   
38
59.30 (-eV)   
23

Lattice Constant
338.00 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
15.10 g/cm3   
21
11.72 g/cm3   
32

Tensile Strength
Not Available   
Not Available   

Viscosity
Not Available   
Not Available   

Vapor Pressure
  
  

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
Malleable, Sectile   
Ductile   

Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Characteristics
  
  

Specific Gravity
15.10   
13
11.70   
23

Magnetic Ordering
Paramagnetic   
Paramagnetic   

Electrical Properties
  
  

Electrical Property
Unknown   
Superconductor   

Resistivity
Not Available   
157.00 nΩ·m   
22

Electrical Conductivity
Not Available   
0.07 106/cm Ω   
31

Thermal Properties

Specific Heat
Not Available   
0.12 J/(kg K)   
40

Molar Heat Capacity
Not Available   
26.23 J/mol·K   
30

Thermal Conductivity
Not Available   
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
Not Available   
15.48 kJ/mol   
19

Enthalpy of Atomization
Not Available   
468.60 kJ/mol   
15

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

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