Radium (Ra): Fun Facts and Information About the Element

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Fun Facts about Radium

What is the symbol? Ra
What is the atomic number? 88
What is the atomic weight? 226
What is the melting point in Celsius? 700
What is the boiling point in Celsius? 1737
What is the density (g/cm3)? 5.5
What year was it discovered? 1898
Crystal structure body-centered cubic
Magnetic ordering nonmagnetic
Who discovered the element? “Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie”
What group is the element in? 2
What is the electron configuration? [Rn] 7s2
What is the ionization energy? 5.2784
What element category is it in? Alkaline earth metals
Where did Radium get its name?The naming of Radium dates back to 1899, from French ‘Radium’, formed in Modern Latin from Latin Radius ‘ray’, so called for its power of emitting energy in the form of rays.

Compounds

radium fluoride (RaF2)
radium chloride (RaCl2)
radium bromide (RaBr2)
radium iodide (RaI2)
radium oxide (RaO)
radium nitride (Ra3N2)

Radium Safety

Radium is over one million times more radioactive than the same mass of uranium. Since radium is chemically similar to calcium, it has the potential to cause great harm by replacing it in bones. Exposure to radium can cause cancer and other disorders, because radium and its decay product radon emit alpha particles upon their decay, which kill and mutate cells.

Where is Radium Found?

Originally, radium was obtained from the rich pitchblende ore found in Joachimsthal, Bohemia. The carnotite sands of Colorado furnish some radium, but richer ores are found in the Republic of Zaire and the Great Lake region of Canada. Large uranium deposits are located in Ontario, New Mexico, Utah, Australia, and elsewhere.

What is Radium Used For?

One gram of radium produces about 0.0001 ml (stp) of emanation, or radon gas, per day. This is purged from the radium and sealed in minute tubes, which are used in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Radium was used in the producing of self-luminous paints, neutron sources, and in medicine for the treatment of disease.

Resources about Radium

Macklis, R. M. (1993). “The great radium scandal”. Scientific American 269: 94–99.
Clark, Claudia (1987). Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910–1935. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-4640-6.

Resource by B.Sobey

I am a recent masters graduate from FL. I enjoy the beach, traveling, and writing. I just moved to South Carolina in hopes to find a job as a journalist.

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