Discovery Information
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Who: G.T.Seaborg, S.G.Tompson, A. Ghiorso, K.Street Jr.
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When: 1950 |
Where: United States |
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Name Origin
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After the state and University of California. |
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Sources
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Made by bombarding curium with helium ions.
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Uses
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Californium is available only in very small quantities so its uses are limited, however, it is used in nuclear research as
a source of fission fragments. It is also useful as a neutron source for activation analysis to detect gold or silver. It can also be used in moisture gauges in oil wells.
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Notes
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252Cf (2.6 year half-life) is a very strong neutron emitter and is thus extremely radioactive and harmful (one microgram spontaneously emits 170 million neutrons per minute). The decay of 254Cf (55-day half-life) may have been detected through telescopes in supernovae remnants. 249Cf is formed from the beta decay of 249Bk and most other californium isotopes are made by subjecting berkelium to intense neutron radiation in a nuclear reactor.
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