Radon can kill you but we didn't know that, we used it to cure Cancer, but now we know that's wack, I'm radioactive, I easily blow up, you mess with me I mess you up. I am a noble gas found in the earths crust, you will never see me I'm mysterious as lust.

 

Isotopes
History
Radon in Homes
Uses
Main Facts
Extraction
Bibliography
Table

 

Main Facts:Radon is number 86 on the periodic table, its symbol is Rn and it is in the zero group of gases in the periodic table; the noble gases are the elements that make up Group 18. It is a colorless gas at room temperature but when it is a solid it changes from a yellow to an orangish-red as the temperature decreases. It is a very neat process because it also glows from the intense radiation being produced. Radon is a radioactive element, it is formed when a heavier radioactive element like uranium and thorium break down. When Radon breaks down it forms lighter elements such as lead and bismuth.

I sotopes:
Isotopes are two or more forms of an element that different from each other according to their mass number. The number of neutrons in any one atom can vary and each variation is an isotope. There are three isotopes of radon that occur in nature, they are radon-219, radon-220 and radon-222. There have also been at least 18 other radioactive isotopes of radon but they have been made artificially. All of radon’s isotopes have short half-lives and do not remain in the atmosphere very long. The time it takes for half of a sample of the element or isotopes to break down is the half-life of a radioactive element. The Radon isotope with the longest half life is radon-222 and it’s half live is only 2.8days

History:Radon was discovered at the break of the century in1900, by a German chemist named Friedrich Ernst Dorn. He was studying the chain of Radium’s decay. When it was first discovered they called it Niton, after Nitens, which means, “shining”. They officially made it an element and named it Radon in 1923 the name is a reminder of the source from which the gas comes, radium. Since 1923, it has been called Radon. In 1908 Ramsay and Gray, who named it niton, isolated the element and determined its density, finding it to be the heaviest known gas. It is essentially inert and it occupies the last place in the zero group of gases in the Periodic Table. Other scientists can be given credit for the discovery of radon such as Robert B. who announced the presence of a radioactive gas that he named thoron in 1899. Also in 1903 French chemist named André Louis Debierne made a similar discovery like Rober B. did, he named the gas action.

Radon in homes:
Care must be taken in handling radon, as with other radioactive materials. The main hazard is from inhalation of the element. Radon affects the houses and buildings we live in. It is very heavy so it can’t float in the air, and is found in basements and low points. Radon has very negative effects to humans, which is found as being a carcinogen.  You can buy home test kits, to check radon levels; these are available to purchase at most hardware stores. Radon is the cause of 9% of deaths from lung cancer.Radon is used only with great caution, it is especially dangerous exposing fragile tissues to penetrating radiation. Allover, radon effects the environment, in mines, and homes. So be careful and safe.  

Uses:
Radon uses varies depending on how much radiation it gives off. It is hard to determine the amount of radiation given off by radon considering that it is an element that cannot be seen, smelled, tasted, or detected by any other human sense. However a number of instruments have been invented for detecting this radiation. One example of this is the Geiger counter, which is a device that makes a clicking sound or flashes a light when radiation passes through it. One use of radon is in leak detection, it is able to help detect a leak in a tube. It has also been used for cancer in the past too. The radiation it gives off is able to kill of cancer cells. The only problem with this is that it is also able to kill healthy cells. Today they have found other more efficient isotopes that are easier and safer to work with.
 

Extraction:
Radon can be obtained in a method where a compound of radium is placed under water. Then a glass tube collects gases given off by the radium compound. Oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases are removed from the gas in the tube. The gas that remains is pure radon.

 

Table
Melting Point
-71 degres Celsius
Boiling Point
-61.7 degres Celsius
Atomic Number

86
Atomic Symbol
Rn
Atomic Weight

222
Density
9.72 grams per liter

 

Radon has similar properties as Radium. Radon is produced during the breakdown of Radium. To learn more about Radium click here.

 

Glossary
 

Isotopes: One of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but different mass numbers.

Radioactive: Exhibiting or caused by radioactivity; "radioactive isotope"; "radioactive decay"; "radioactive fallout"

Compound: Composed of two or more parts, elements, or ingredients

Decay: To break down into component parts

Nobel Gas: A group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with a very low chemical reactivity.

 Half Life: The time required for one half the atoms of a given amount of a radioactive substance to disintegrate.

 

Bibliography
 

“Radon: The Essentials.” webelements. 2/17/09 http://www.webelements.com/radon/

“Element Radon-Rn” environmentalchemistry 2/20/09 http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/Rn.html

“Radon Element Facts” chemicool. 2/17/09 http://www.chemicool.com/elements/radon.html

Gagnon, Steve. “It’s Elemental” education. 2/20/09 http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele086.html

“Radon” periodic. 2/19/09 http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/86.html

 


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