Curium atomic properties

Hassium, element 108, does not exist in nature but must be made in a particle accelerator. It was first created in 1984 and can be made by shooting mag-nesium-26 (ifMg) atoms at curium-248 ( HCm) atoms. The collisions between these atoms produce some hassium-265 (io Hs) atoms. The position of hassium in the periodic table (see Fig. 2.20) in the vertical column containing iron, ruthenium, and osmium suggests that hassium should have chemical properties similar to these metals. However, it is not easy to test this prediction—only a few atoms of hassium can be made at a given time and they last for only about 9 seconds. Imagine having to get your next lab experiment done in 9 seconds ... 

Marie Curie went on to win a second Nobel Prize, this time in chemistry in 1911, for her discovery of radium and polonium. She was the first scientist noted for making the claim that radioactivity derives from within the atom and not by virtue of some unknown chemical reaction. This was the genius of Madame Curie, a woman immortalized through element 96 curium, with deep insightto the nature of the atom long before it s properties were revealed to the world. 

Americium and curium were placed after actinium in the actinide series in the Periodic Table because their chemical properties were similar. Since that time, elements with atomic numbers to 118 have been reported by scientists around the world. 

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