Thorium [Th] (CAS-ID: 7440-29-1) locate me
An: 90 N: 142 Am: 232.0381
Group Name: Actinoid
Block: f-block  Period: 7 (actinoid)
State: solid at 298 K
Colour: silvery white Classification: Metallic
Boiling Point: 5061K (4788'C)
Melting Point: 2115K (1842'C)
Density: 11.7g/cm3
Shell Structure diagram | Atomic Radius diagram
Isotopes | More Info
Discovery Information
Who: Juns Berzelius
When: 1828
Where: Sweden
Name Origin
From the Scandinavian god Thor.
Sources
Found in various minerals like monazite and thorite. Thorium is found in small amounts in most rocks and soils (about 6ppm), where it is three times more abundant than uranium and about as common as lead.
Uses
Used in making strong alloys, ultraviolet photoelectric cells, mantles in portable gas lights, coating tungsten wire in electronic equipment, . Bombarded with neutrons make uranium-233, a nuclear fuel.
Thorium dioxide (ThO2) is used in producing high-temperature laboratory crucibles. When added to glass it helps create glasses of a high refractive index and with low dispersion. Consequently, they find application in high-quality lenses for cameras and scientific instruments.
Notes
Thorium dioxide (ThO2), also called thoria, has one of the highest melting points of all oxides (3300'C).
Images