Californium

My name is californium. I was names after California since that is where I was created. I was created in 1950 by S.G. Thompson, K. Street, AGhiorso and Glenn Seaborg. To create me, they bombard atoms of curium-242 with helium ions using a device known as a cyclotron(accelerate changed particles to high energy). This produces atoms of californium-245 which is an isotope with a half-life of about 45 minutes and a free neutron. It is used as a neutron source to identify gold and silver ores through a technique known as neutron activation. A few compounds have been produces and studied. They include californium oxide(cfo3), Californium trichride(cfcl3) and californium oxychlorid(cofocl).

Reading assignment #1

1. Biologist's is what was believed to be an invisible yet real substance that emerges as flame in the course of burning.

2. Alchemy was hokum because it was believed to be true at the time but now when we look at it we can see how stupid it is. It was wishful thinking because the alchemist were hoping to make a profit off of it, and they wanted to find eternal youth, although real scientific procedures were used.

3. There are many ways to tell an acid and a base apart. An acid is sour tasting, it is slippery, corrosive, and their pH levels are below 7. A base is salty tasting, slippery, and has a pH level above 7.

4. The original nine elements known to ancients are gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, lead, mercury, carbon, and sulfur.

5. The first two elements to be attributed to a discoverer are arsenic and phosphorus.

6. In this modern day there are still scientist trying to change lead into gold but it ends up costing them more to make it than the gold would be worth. We do a lot of things toobtainn eternal youth, things like plastic surgery, and false organs and things like that to make everything new.