Americium

By John Emsley2008-09-01T00:00:00

Source: Murray Robertson/Visual Elements

Americium emits deadly radiation - but every home should have some

On 11 November 1945 Glenn T. Seaborg, a young nuclear scientist from the University of Chicago, was a guest on the popular children's radio programme, Quiz kids, when he let slip that he and his colleagues had discovered a new element. An official announcement was made a few days later, and the following year Seaborg put forward the name americium (Am) for the element.

John Emsley digs deeper into the history and present of this patriotic element.

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