Astatine is a rare, radioactive element with a half-life of approximately eight hours. It has no commercial use, but researchers believe its isotopes could be useful in medical imaging studies. Astatine is found in uranium ore and shares many chemical properties with iodine. It poses a risk to human health and requires careful handling in laboratory settings. Its discovery was announced in 1931, and the element is identified on the periodic table of elements with the symbol At.
Astatine is a semimetallic chemical element classified among the halogens in the periodic table of elements. It is radioactive and extremely unstable, with a half-life of approximately eight hours. Due to its instability, this element is incredibly rare; of course, approximately 1 ounce (28 grams) of this element exists at any given time, making it the rarest natural element. It is also possible to create this element and many of its isotopes in a laboratory setting by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles.
Because astatine is so rare, it has no commercial use. Consumers probably never interact with it, although scientists often do. Like other elements, it has been extensively researched in laboratory settings because scientists are interested in learning more about all the substances that can be found on Earth. Some researchers suspect that isotopes of the element could potentially be useful in medical imaging studies, particularly astatine 211. The short life of this element makes it difficult to study, as it is hard to obtain and does not last long.
Naturally, world astatine is found in uranium ore. In pure form, it appears to take on a solid state and appears to share many chemical properties with the closely related element iodine. Researchers believe, for example, that astatine can build up in the thyroid glands like iodine does. The element has atomic number 85, and is identified on the periodic table of elements with the symbol At. It is the heaviest of the halogens.
The discovery of astatine was announced in 1931 by Fred Allison and EJ Murphy. In 1940, a team of scientists in California had succeeded in creating the isotope 211; credit for this discovery goes to DR Corson, KR Mackenzie and Emilio Segré. The name of the element comes from the Greek astatos, which means “unstable”.
Like other radioactive elements, astatine poses a risk to human health. It can cause radiation damage to cells in people who are exposed to it without adequate protection. Fortunately, consumers generally don’t need to worry about this hazard due to its rarity, and in laboratories, people working with the element receive training in handling radioactive substances. Because it may build up in the thyroid gland, people who work with astatine are especially careful to make sure it doesn’t do long-term damage to their bodies.
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