Chemical Property of Californium
Chemical Property:
- Melting Point:900 °C
- Boiling Point:1100~1200 °C
- PSA：0.00000
- Density:15.10; d 8.74 (Katz et al., loc. cit. vol. 2, p. 1150)
- LogP:0.00000
- Hydrogen Bond Donor Count:0
- Hydrogen Bond Acceptor Count:0
- Rotatable Bond Count:0
- Exact Mass:251.07959
- Heavy Atom Count:1
- Complexity:0
- Purity/Quality:
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99% *data from raw suppliers
CALIFORNIUM 95.00% *data from reagent suppliers
Safty Information:
- Pictogram(s):
- Hazard Codes:
- MSDS Files:
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SDS file from LookChem
Useful:
- Chemical Classes:Physical/Radiation -> Radionuclides
- Canonical SMILES:[Cf]
- Recent ClinicalTrials:A Comparison of mXELIRI Regimen and FOLFIRI Combined Bevacizumab Regimen as First-line Chemotherapy Regimen for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
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Description
Californium does not occur in nature. The element was synthesized in 1949 at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, California by Thompson, Ghiorso and Seaborg (Thompson, S.G., Ghiorso, A. and G. T. Seaborg. 1950. Phys. Rev., 77, 838). It has 12 isotopes. It is the fifth man-made transuranium element. Presently, the element has no commercial application.
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Physical properties
Californium is a synthetic radioactive transuranic element of the actinide series. The puremetal form is not found in nature and has not been artificially produced in particle accelerators.However, a few compounds consisting of californium and nonmetals have been formedby nuclear reactions. The most important isotope of californium is Cf-252, which fissionsspontaneously while emitting free neutrons. This makes it of some use as a portable neutronsource since there are few elements that produce neutrons all by themselves. Most transuranicelements must be placed in a nuclear reactor, must go through a series of decay processes, ormust be mixed with other elements in order to give off neutrons. Cf-252 has a half-life of 2.65years, and just one microgram (0.000001 grams) of the element produces over 170 millionneutrons per minute.Californium’s melting point is ～900°C, its boiling point is unknown, and its density is alsounknown.
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Uses
Californium’s uses are limited, which is why the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,which controls the output and use of radioisotopes, has made californium-252 available forcommercial use at the cost of only $10 per millionth of a gram. This small quantity is adequatefor many sources of free neutrons to be used commercially. For example, free neutrons can be used in devices to measure moisture in products, including the Earth’s crust, to find wateror supplies of underground oil. Cf-252’s ability to produce neutrons has also found uses inmedicine. Cf-252’s natural spontaneous fission makes it an ideal and accurate counter forelectronic systems. 252Cf as neutron source; startup source for nuclear reactors; in nuclear reactor fuel rod scanners; for neutron radiography of weapons components.
