Astatine
By Olivia Gbur
Fun Facts
Astatine comes from Astatos. Astatos is the Greek word for unstable. It's an unstable element because it is radioactive.
Astatines symbol is At. The element is number 85 on the periodic table.
It's the rarest element on the earth.
More than 30 isotopes of astatine have been identified. It can be produced both synthetically and naturally. Through bombarding bismuth with alpha particles is the synthetical way. The natural way to obtain astatine is through the decay of uranium or thorium.
Physical Properties
Astatine atomic mass is 210u. Its atomic radius in picometers (pm) is 127pm. Density of Astatine is about 7 grams per cubic centimeter. The melting point is 302.0 C while its boiling point is 337.0 C. At room temperature (22°C), this element is a solid. Astatines appearance is thought to have a dark color but it is unknown. It is presumed dark but unknown. The elements thermal conductivity is 2 W/(m K). Due to this element being very rare the malleability and the hardness is n/a.
Other physical properties include a half life span of 8.1 hours. Also just the other fact that this element is radioactive.
Chemical Properties
History
Astatine was produced for the first time in 1940 by Dale R. Corson, K.R. Mackenzie, and Emilio Segre at the University of California. The element was discovered at the University of California, Berkeley. The three people who produced Astatine had bombarded bismuth with alpha particles, although naturally it can be produced by thorium or uranium decay.
It was also discovered in nature. It was found by Berta Karlik and Traude Bernert about three years after it had been produced.
Berta Karlik
Traude Bernert
Five Nickles
Applications and Uses
Atomic Structure
Sources Used
Element Card: Gray, Theodore W. (2008). The Photographic Card Deck of the Elements.
Elements Book: Gray, Theodore W. (2009). The Elements: A visual exploration of every known atom in the universe. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Inc.
Elements Website: "Astatine." Periodic Table. Web. 23 Dec. 2015. <http://www.rsc.org>.
Elements Website: "Astatine." Ivy Rose Holistic. Web. 23 Dec. 2015. <http://www.ivyroses.com/>.
Photo Sources
http://www.thepetbeastro.com/2013/05/why-your-pet-needs-iodine/
http://www.chemicool.com/elements/astatine.html
http://www.chemie-master.de/FrameHandler.php?loc=http://www.chemie-master.de/pse/pse.php?modul=At
http://lise.univie.ac.at/physikerinnen/historisch/berta-karlik.htm
http://www.periodictable.com/Elements/085/pictures.html
http://theauguriesofinnocence.blogspot.com/2013/08/symbols-of-danger-failure-of-radiation.html
http://classic.eastpennsd.org/teacherpages/dhertzog/_pending/Astatine.html
http://classic.eastpennsd.org/teacherpages/dhertzog/_pending/Astatine.html