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- Name : Polonium
- Symbol : Po
- Atomic # : 84
- Atom weight: 209 (Most stable isotope)
- Melting P. : 254
- Boiling P. : 962
- Oxidation : +2, +4
- Pronounced : peh-LOW-ni-em
- From : Named for Poland, Mme. Curie's native country
- Identified : Marie Curie in 1898
- Appearance : Silvery-gray metal
- Note : Extremely rare, naturally radioactive element
-
- [Properties]
-
- Polonium is the final entry in the oxygen group of elements, Group VIA.
- Polonium is in a position on the periodic table where it could be a metal,
- metalloid, or nonmetal. It is official classified as a metal, however, on
- the grounds that its electrical conductivity decreases with increasing
- temperature. Metalloids and nonmetals are either very poor conductors at
- any temperature or their conductivity increases with temperature.
- Polonium readily dissolves in most acids, but only a few alkalis.
- Generally it behaves chemically like tellurium and bismuth - elements
- located directly above and to the left, respectively, on the periodic
- chart.
-