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).