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Californium vs Americium


Americium vs Californium


Periodic Table

Symbol
Cf   
Am   

Group Number
Not Available   
Not Available   

Period Number
7   
7   

Block
f block   
f block   

Element Family
Actinide   
Actinide   

CAS Number
7440713   
20
7440359   
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.
  
  • Americium metal is produced by bombarding Plutonium with Neutrons.
  • Americium metal was discovered as a by-product while testing an atomic bomb (Manhattan Project).
  

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

History
  
  

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

Discovery
In 1950   
In 1944   

Abundance
  
  

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.
  
  • Americium metal is used in smoke detection alarms.
  • In the future, this metal has a potential to be used in batteries of spacecrafts.
  

Industrial Uses
Chemical Industry   
NA   

Medical Uses
NA   
NA   

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

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
900.00 °C   
99+
994.00 °C   
99+

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

Appearance
  
  

Physical State
Solid   
Solid   

Color
Silver   
Silvery White   

Luster
NA   
NA   

Hardness
  
  

Mohs Hardness
3.00   
12
Not Available   

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
Cf   
Am   

Isotopes
  
  

Known Isotopes
20   
19
16   
23

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
608.00 kJ/mol   
99+
578.00 kJ/mol   
99+

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

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

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

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

Electron Work Function
Not Available   
Not Available   

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

Atomic Properties

Atomic Number
98   
20
95   
23

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

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

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

Atom
  
  

Number of Protons
98   
20
95   
23

Number of Neutrons
153   
9
148   
12

Number of Electrons
98   
20
95   
23

Radius of an Atom
  
  

Atomic Radius
186.00 pm   
9
173.00 pm   
21

Covalent Radius
Not Available   
180.00 pm   
21

Van der Waals Radius
Not Available   
244.00 pm   
10

Atomic Weight
251.00 amu   
17
243.00 amu   
20

Atomic Volume
Not Available   
17.86 cm3/mol   
29

Adjacent Atomic Numbers
  
  

Previous Element
Berkelium
  
Plutonium
  

Next Element
Curium
  

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

Lattice Constant
338.00 pm   
99+
346.81 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
15.10 g/cm3   
21
12.00 g/cm3   
30

Tensile Strength
Not Available   
Not Available   

Viscosity
Not Available   
Not Available   

Vapor Pressure
  
  

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

Elasticity properties
  
  

Poisson Ratio
Not Available   
Not Available   

Other Mechanical Properties
Malleable, Sectile   
NA   

Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Characteristics
  
  

Specific Gravity
15.10   
13
13.67   
15

Magnetic Ordering
Paramagnetic   
Paramagnetic   

Electrical Properties
  
  

Resistivity
Not Available   
0.69 nΩ·m   
99+

Electrical Conductivity
Not Available   
0.02 106/cm Ω   
99+

Thermal Properties

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

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

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

Critical Temperature
Not Available   
Not Available   

Thermal Expansion
Not Available   
Not Available   

Enthalpy
  
  

Enthalpy of Fusion
Not Available   
14.39 kJ/mol   
24

Enthalpy of Atomization
Not Available   
268.00 kJ/mol   
40

Standard Molar Entropy
Not Available   
Not Available   

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