Half a gram of this metal heats itself to 500°C with no external power source. Polonium is one of the most dangerous elements on Earth. Its radioactivity is so intense it glows with a blue haze in the dark. A speck the size of a grain of salt can kill a person. In 2006, polonium-210 was the weapon used to assassinate former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London.
Polonium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898, extracted from uranium ore (pitchblende). Marie named it after her homeland — Poland, which was then under occupation. It was both a political statement and a scientific revolution: one of the first radioactive elements ever identified.
Polonium is a rare radioactive metal (or metalloid) in group 16. In nature, it forms in the uranium-238 decay chain and exists in Earth's crust in vanishingly small amounts. The most stable isotope, polonium-209, has a half-life of 125 years, while the most famous — polonium-210 — lasts only 138 days.
Polonium emits alpha particles with enormous energy. This decay releases so much heat that a small sample glows red-hot. That is why it was once used in space-based thermoelectric generators.
Polonium is one of the most dangerous known elements. Alpha radiation cannot penetrate skin, but once ingested (via food, air, or wounds) it destroys cells at the molecular level. The lethal dose of polonium-210 is less than a microgram. The element evaporates easily and contaminates air. No effective antidotes exist. Handling requires sealed gloveboxes with inert atmosphere and remote manipulation only.
Polonium-210 generates 140 watts of heat per gram. Half a gram heats itself to 500°C — with no external energy source whatsoever.
Intense air ionization makes polonium glow with a blue haze in the dark. It's one of the few substances you can literally see radiating.
Marie Curie named the element after Poland (Polonium from Latin Polonia), which was then occupied by three empires. It was a scientific protest.
Polonium-210 is 250,000 times more toxic than cyanide. A speck the size of a grain of salt is a lethal dose for a human.
Polonium-210 is found in cigarette smoke. Tobacco plants absorb it from soil and fertilizers. This is one factor linking smoking to lung cancer.
In 2006, the polonium-210 poisoning of former FSB agent Litvinenko in London became an international scandal. Polonium traces were found across several countries.
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
208Po☢ | 207.981246 | synthetic | 2.898 years | α |
209Po☢ | 208.982430 | synthetic | 125.2 years | α |
210Po☢ | 209.982874 | synthetic | 138.376 days | α |
Analysis of pitchblende