Radium facts for kids
Radium is a chemical element with the atomic number 88 and symbol Ra on the periodic table. It was discovered by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie in the form of radium chloride in 1898. It is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but when it is exposed to oxygen, it turns black quickly. All isotopes of radium are radioactive, and it glows faint blue because of this.
It's used in several things, like luminous watches, which are now banned because they can cause radiation poisoning. This was caused because of a lawsuit that involved 5 women ( radium Girls ) that suffered from many disabilities because of the prolonged exposure they had to the element radium.
It can also be used in treating cancer.
| Periodic table | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H | He | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Li | Be | B | C | N | O | F | Ne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Na | Mg | Al | Si | P | S | Cl | Ar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| K | Ca | Sc | Ti | V | Cr | Mn | Fe | Co | Ni | Cu | Zn | Ga | Ge | As | Se | Br | Kr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rb | Sr | Y | Zr | Nb | Mo | Tc | Ru | Rh | Pd | Ag | Cd | In | Sn | Sb | Te | I | Xe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cs | Ba | La | Ce | Pr | Nd | Pm | Sm | Eu | Gd | Tb | Dy | Ho | Er | Tm | Yb | Lu | Hf | Ta | W | Re | Os | Ir | Pt | Au | Hg | Tl | Pb | Bi | Po | At | Rn | ||||||||||
| Fr | Ra | Ac | Th | Pa | U | Np | Pu | Am | Cm | Bk | Cf | Es | Fm | Md | No | Lr | Rf | Db | Sg | Bh | Hs | Mt | Ds | Rg | Cn | Uut | Fl | Uup | Lv | Uus | Uuo | ||||||||||
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Images for kids
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Marie and Pierre Curie experimenting with radium, a drawing by André Castaigne
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Glass tube of radium chloride kept by the US Bureau of Standards that served as the primary standard of radioactivity for the United States in 1927.
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Self-luminous white paint which contains radium on the face and hand of an old clock.
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Radium watch hands under ultraviolet light
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Hotel postcard advertising radium baths, c.1940s
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Ad for Radior cosmetics which the manufacturer claimed contained radium, that was supposed to have health benefits for one's skin. Powders, skin creams and soap were part of this line.
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Monument to the Discovery of Radium in Jáchymov
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See also
In Spanish: Radio (elemento) para niños
