9 Polonium Uses : Facts You Should Know!

Polonium (Po) is the heaviest metal among chalcogens. It is a radioactive metallic element that is silvery-gray or black. Let us look at the various industrial applications of Po.

Some of the industrial applications of polonium include:

• As a static eliminator
• As a heat/energy source
• As a neutron source
• Radioactivity

Polonium is a highly radioactive metal with a silver appearance. Let us focus on the wide variety of uses of Polonium in this article.

As a static eliminator

• Polonium, as an alpha-emitter, is used in antistatic devices and research.
• Polonium is used in processes such as rolling paper, wire, and sheet metal to eliminate static electricity.
• Po-210 has been used in significant applications by capitalizing on polonium’s high radioactivity: as a static eliminator.
• Polonium is used to remove static electricity from machinery or dust from photographic film.

As a heat/energy source

• Polonium is used as a thin film on a stainless steel disc as an alpha particle source.
• A single gram of polonium will reach a temperature of 500°C due to the alpha radiation emitted.

As a neutron source

• To provide a neutron source, polonium can be combined or alloyed with beryllium.
• Po-210 has been used as both a heat/energy source and a neutron source when combined with a low atomic weight element.

Radioactivity

Polonium’s radioactivity-related applications include heaters in space probes, antistatic devices, neutron and alpha particle sources., antistatic devices, and neutron and alpha particle sources.

Conclusion

Polonides, formed by the direct reaction of two elements, is the most stable type of polonium compound. Polonium has 42 known radioactive isotopes. Their atomic masses range from 186-227 g/mol.