51Թ

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americium

[ am-uh-rish-ee-uhm ]

noun

Chemistry.
  1. a transuranic element, one of the products of high-energy helium bombardment of uranium and plutonium. : Am; : 95.


americium

/ ˌæəˈɪɪə /

noun

  1. a white metallic transuranic element artificially produced from plutonium. It is used as an alpha-particle source. Symbol: Am; atomic no: 95; half-life of most stable isotope, 243Am: 7.4 × 10³ years; valency: 2,3,4,5, or 6; relative density: 13.67; melting pt: 1176°C; boiling pt: 2607°C (est)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

americium

/ ă′ə-ĭŧ-ə /

  1. Symbol Am A synthetic, silvery-white, radioactive metallic element of the actinide series that is produced artificially by bombarding plutonium with neutrons. Americium is used as a source of alpha particles for smoke detectors and gamma rays for industrial gauges. Its most stable isotope has a half-life of 7,950 years. Atomic number 95; specific gravity 11.7; valence 3, 4, 5, 6.
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of americium1

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50; Americ(a) + -ium
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of americium1

C20: from America (because it was discovered at Berkeley, California) + -ium
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

There are already two different drug injections that can be used to treat people who have been exposed to radioactive plutonium, americium or curium.

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The most stable isotopes of americium and curium decay faster than uranium’s most stable isotopes.

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Two of nuclear waste’s most problematic ingredients are metals called americium and curium; each has particularly long-lived forms that decay slowly over thousands of years.

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The waste includes isotopes of iodine, strontium, americium, plutonium, uranium and other unstable elements, many of which are toxic as well as radioactive.

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Inhalation of the particles, which included uranium, thorium, plutonium and americium, can increase the risk of cancer.

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