Polonium
Polonio (Po, Z=84)
- Date
- 1898 · confidence high
- Place
- Paris, France (École de Physique et Chimie)
- Credited to
- Marie and Pierre Curie
- People
- 👤 Marie Curie1867–1934👤 Pierre Curie1859–1906
- Field
- Matter & energy
What was discovered
The Curies detected it by its radioactivity in pitchblende, the first element discovered by radiochemical methods; Marie named it after her native Poland.
Announced in July 1898, months before radium.
What it led to
- Radiochemistry as a method of discovery
- Neutron sources (Po-Be) for the first atomic bombs
- An element name with a political statement
Built on
- Becquerel's radioactivity
- Curie's piezoelectric electrometer
Made possible
- Po-Be neutron initiator
- Static eliminators