Radium

Outlook of radium(Ra-226)

Radium is a chemical element with the atomic number 88 and symbol Ra on the periodic table. It was discovered by Marie Curie and Pierre Curie in the form of radium chloride in 1898. It is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but when it is exposed to nitrogen, it turns black quickly. All isotopes of radium are radioactive, and it glows faint blue because of this.

It's used in several things, like luminous watches, which are now banned because they can cause radiation poisoning. This was caused because of a lawsuit that involved 5 women ( radium Girls ) that suffered from many disabilities because of the prolonged exposure they had to the element radium.

It can also be used in treating cancer.

Radium Media

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  Decay chain of 238U, the primordial progenitor of 226Ra

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  Marie and Pierre Curie experimenting with radium, a drawing by André Castaigne

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  Glass tube of radium chloride kept by the US Bureau of Standards that served as the primary standard of radioactivity for the United States in 1927.

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  Radium watch hands under ultraviolet light

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  1918 ad for Radior cosmetics, which the manufacturer claimed contained radium.

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  Monument to the Discovery of Radium in Jáchymov

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  This is an example of a King plot where it zooms in the important points to show its details.