Californium: Encyclopedia II - Californium - Notable characteristics

Californium - Notable characteristics

Weighable amounts of californium make it possible to determine some of its properties using macroscopic quantities.

Californium-252 (2.6 year half-life) is a very strong neutron emitter and is thus extremely radioactive and harmful (one microgram spontaneously emits 170 million neutrons per minute). The decay of californium-254 (55-day half-life) may have been detected through telescopes in supernovae remnants. Californium-249 is formed from the beta decay of berkelium-249 and most other californium isotopes are made by subjecting berkelium to intense neutron radiation in a nuclear reactor.

The element does have some specialist applications dealing with its radioactivity but otherwise is largely too difficult to produce to have widespread useful significance as a material. Some of its uses are:

• neutron startup source for some nuclear reactors, calibrating instrumentation
• treatment of certain cervical and brain cancers where other radiation therapy is ineffective
• radiography of aircraft to detect metal fatigue
• airport neutron-activation detectors of explosives
• neutron moisture gauges used to find water and petroleum layers in oil wells
• portable neutron source in gold and silver prospecting for on-the-spot analysis

Californium has no biological role and only a few californium compounds have been made and studied. Included among these are: californium oxide (CfO₃), californium trichloride (CfCl₃) and californium oxychloride (CfOCl). The only californium ion that is stable in aqueous solution is californium (III).

Californium-251 is famous for having a very small critical mass, high lethality, and short period of toxic environmental irradiation relative to radioactive elements commonly used for radiation explosive weaponry, creating speculation about possible use in pocket nukes although this urban legend is unfounded since it would be very difficult to make a Californium-251 bomb weighing less than 2 kg and the costs of such a bomb would be prohibitive. Other weaponry uses, such as showering an area with Californium, are not impossible but are seen as inhumane and are subject to inclement weather conditions and porous terrain considerations. Often cited as a consideration is the cost of producing Californium en masse, but the cost citations are usually due to extra fees that laboratory materials companies insert for sake of caution and market needs. A government needn't consider these as prohibitive.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Notable characteristics", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki