Actinium is a rare, silvery-white, radioactive metallic element with the symbol Ac and atomic number 89. It was discovered in 1899 by French chemist André-Louis Debierne, who isolated it from pitchblende, a uranium ore. Actinium is a member of the actinide series, a group of radioactive elements that includes uranium, plutonium, and americium. It is highly reactive, and it rapidly oxidizes in air to form a yellow coating of actinium oxide. Actinium has no known biological role, and it is highly toxic due to its radioactivity. Actinium has a number of important applications in nuclear physics and medicine. It is used as a source of alpha particles in nuclear physics experiments, and it is also used in radiation therapy to treat various forms of cancer. Actinium-225, a radioactive isotope of actinium, is particularly useful in this regard, as it emits high-energy alpha particles that can destroy cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. Actinium-227, another radioactive isotope of actinium, is used as a precursor to produce other isotopes for medical and industrial applications. Actinium has a number of interesting properties that make it a subject of ongoing research in materials science and nuclear physics. For example, it has a high melting point of 1,050 degrees Celsius, which makes it useful in high-temperature applications. It is also a good conductor of electricity, and it has a relatively low density of 10.07 grams per cubic centimeter. These properties make actinium potentially useful in a variety of industrial and technological applications, although its high radioactivity makes it difficult to work with.
radioactive, actinide, alpha particles, radiation therapy, materials science
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