actinium
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actinium (ækˈtɪnɪəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a radioactive element of the actinide series, occurring as a decay product of uranium. It is used as an alpha-particle source and in neutron production. Symbol: Ac; atomic no: 89; half-life of most stable isotope,227Ac: 21.6 years; relative density: 10.07; melting pt: 1051°C; boiling pt: 3200 ± 300°C | |
| [C19: New Latin, from | |
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| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
actinium ac·tin·i·um (āk-tĭn'ē-əm)
n.
Symbol Ac
A radioactive element found in uranium ores. Its longest lived isotope is Ac 227 with a half-life of 21.6years. Atomic number 89; melting point 1,050°C; boiling point (estimated) 3,200°C; specific gravity (calculated) 10.07; valence 3.
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| actinium (āk-tĭn'ē-əm) Pronunciation Key
Symbol Ac A silvery-white, highly radioactive metallic element of the actinide series that is found in uranium ores. It is about 150 times more radioactive than radium and is used as a source of alpha rays and neutrons. Its most stable isotope has a half-life of about 22 years. Atomic number 89; melting point 1,050°C (1,922°F); boiling point (estimated) 3,200°C (5,792°F); specific gravity (calculated) 10.07; valence 3. See Periodic Table. |
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actinium
(Ac), radioactive chemical element, in Group IIIb of the periodic table, atomic number 89. Actinium was discovered (1899) by Andre-Louis Debierne in pitchblende residues left after Pierre and Marie Curie had extracted radium and was also discovered (1902) independently by Friedrich Otto Giesel. A ton of pitchblende ore contains about 0.15 mg of actinium. The rare, silvery-white metal is highly radioactive, glowing blue in the dark
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