Astatine: The Rarest Element on Earth
These are some facts about this extremely rare element.
Astatine is a highly radioactive materiel. It has a silvery color to it. It was discovered in 1940 and you can most likely find it in natural minerals. This element is so rare that the entire amount of its NATURAL occurrence on the earth’s crust would equal to 1 teaspoon. It is hard to do tests because the samples that they have are so small so there is little information on it besides that it is radioactive. What little of it is found can be used for radiation therapy, unlike its brothers plutonium and uranium which are used for weapons. Astatine is thought to be produced by radioactive decay in the earth’s crust. This element can also help with nuclear medicine if we could find more. Perhaps the rarest element on earth will end up being the most useful…..
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One Response to “Astatine: The Rarest Element on Earth”
On February 5, 2009 at 11:50 am
Always a pleasure to learn something new. Thank you and I do hope science will explore this element more closely.
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