Astatine
Astato (At, Z=85)
- Date
- 1940 · confidence high
- Place
- Berkeley, California, United States
- Credited to
- Dale Corson, Kenneth MacKenzie and Emilio Segrè
- People
- 👤 Emilio Gino Segrè1905–1989
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Produced by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles in the Berkeley cyclotron; it is the rarest naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust.
Earlier claims (alabamine, dakin) proved false.
What it led to
- Targeted alpha therapy with At-211
- Completing the halogen group
- Study of metallic properties in heavy halogens
Built on
- 60-inch cyclotron
- Discovery of technetium
Made possible
- At-211 radioimmunotherapy