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Radium Ra
Where is radium used--or where does it impact your everyday life?
Radium symbol: Ra
Atomic number: 88 Atomic Mass: 226
Position on the periodic table: earth metals
Group 2 Alkaline Earth metal Period 7
Melting point: 960 °C, (1760 °F)
Boiling point: 1737 °C, (3159 °F)
Reaction with air (oxygen): 2Ra + O2 --> 2RaO
Reaction with water: rapidly Ra + 2H2O --> Ra(OH)2 + H2
Electron configuration: 2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 8, 2
Source: LANL.gov
Researcher: Luke C
Previously used for luminous dials on clocks and watches so they could be seen at night.
Senior Divya W (Class of 2016) investigating the "clucks' heard on a Civil Defense Geiger-Muller counter during a nuclear energy investigation during her IB Chemistry Energy option studies
WIS Photographer
Grade 8 and their French correspondents investigate radioactivity of the travel clock.
Name of mineral: Uraninite
Formula of mineral: (UO2) contains a small amount of radium as a radioactive decay product of uranium.
Where found in the World: Shinkolobwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Viewed at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC during a Chemistry One field trip
Photographer: Rafael B
