Curium
Curio (Cm, Z=96)
- Date
- 1944 · confidence high
- Place
- Berkeley, California, United States
- Credited to
- Glenn Seaborg, Ralph James and Albert Ghiorso
- People
- 👤 Glenn T. Seaborg1912–1999
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
Produced by bombarding plutonium-239 with alpha particles in the Berkeley cyclotron and identified in Chicago; named in honour of Marie and Pierre Curie.
Discovered before americium, despite having a higher atomic number.
What it led to
- Alpha-particle X-ray spectrometers on Mars rovers
- Source material for producing heavier elements
- Validation of the actinide concept
Built on
- Cyclotron1930–1932
- Reactor-grade plutonium
Made possible
- Californium1950
- APXS spectrometer on Mars probes