Nuclear Chemistry

Background Of Elements

• Dmitri Mendeleev created the periodic table of elements
• organized the table by increasing atomic weight
• table was used to predict the existence and characteristics of elements that hadn't been discovered

Elements Today

• new elements aren't really being discovered today
• elements can be created by particle accelerators and nuclear reactions

How Are New Elements Made?

• adding proton to a pre-existing element
• smashing protons into atoms or by colliding atoms

How Does A Particle Accelerator Work?

• speed up and increase the energy of a beam of particles by generating electric fields that accelerate the particles, and magnetic fields that steer and focus them

Untitled Slide

What Is Americium

• atomic number: 95
• atomic weight: 243
• discovered in 1944 by combining plutonium-239, an isotope of plutonium, and high energy neutrons
• highly reactive
• tarnish slowly in dry air or at room temperature

Where Is It Found In Your Home?

• ionization source in smoke detectors

What Is It Used For?

• portable source of gamma rays
• easy to produce relatively pure samples of this isotope
• measure glass thickness and produce flat glass

What Did I Learn From This?

• not all elements on the periodic table are found in nature
• most elements that are highly reactive are man made

My Opinion

• I think that many people aren't aware that elements can be made by combining other elements and isotopes of those elements which can be very dangerous
• therefore we need to be careful when handling different elements with each other

Bibliography
-http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfaqs/f/discoverelement.htm
-http://home.cern/about/how-accelerator-works
-http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele095.html
-http://www.livescience.com/39874-facts-about-americium.html