Polonium - Tales from the Periodic Table

The 84th element in the periodic table, Polonium, has a notorious reputation as one of the most dangerous elements. It has very few applications aside from killing former Soviet spies, keeping lunar rovers warm at night, and reducing static on surfaces.

[queensofthedthrone]

Hey I binged all the videos nine months ago and am so happy to come back and see this video is doing remarkably well! YouTube not only needs, but it should, have more videos like this and creators like you.

[SteelBreeze]

It's a pleasure seeing scientific facts instead of conjecture being presented here. I am also a fan of Theodore W. Gray's work with the Periodic Table and Molecules. Thank you for your contributions to scientific enlightenment.

[billygamer]

Wow! Great exposition along with some real number crunching.

[greegearl]

I truly enjoyed this exploration of element 84. Thank you. It is astonishing that children were given such a dangerous element by a cereal company.

[cherrymountains]

You have the best voice inflection I’ve heard in ages and are a pleasure to listen to. Subscribed! Oh, the topic is pretty interesting too 😜. #weirdcompliment

[sydhenderson]

Irene Joliot-Curie was exposed to polonium in 1946 when a capsule containing it exploded. She recovered from short-term exposure but the damage probably shortened her life and she died from leukemia eleven years later.

[brfisher]

Also you wouldn’t have that sample for long as it would be severely depleted within a year or two given the short 138-day half-life of its widely available isotope 210Po though if 209Po could be produced on a wide scale that would fix the short half-life problem.

[apc]

I enjoyed your presentation Ron. Somehow, the youtube algorithm presented it to me. I'll watch some more of your videos. One thing I learned was that Polonium was used as a trigger in the first atomic bombs, in some combination with Beryllium.

[myriaddsystems]

It's also a pleasure to know Marie and Pierre's children flourished as well

[bendybruce]

Insanely educational. Really amazing work.

[LunarCascader]

Fun fact- cigarette tobacco contains Polonium. A fact I looked up to verify to post this comment. Which has me confused. Tobacco absorbs 210Po from the soil and certain fertilizers. Does tobacco do this more than other plants? Anyway, another fun fact- "210Po in tobacco smoke commits an effective radiation dose to the lung, which could be close to the annual dose limit of 1 mSv for heavy smokers, "

[Curiescat-ff]

LETSGO WE ARE GETTING TO THE RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS

[ezbody]

I didn't know that elements played such an intricate alfa-beta jumping around decay game.

[perisleaf]

LETS

right as i was looking for things abt polonium also!!

[dutchess]

Isnt this what those guys poisoned that guys tea with?

[myriaddsystems]

Doesn't Po-210 also in tobacco then? - crucial point

[flashgordon]

The Curies might not have had a flushing toilet, but radioactive stuff, no problem.

[JohnShields-xxyk]

I remember as a school kid when I saw the periodic table and chemistry, I kinda glanced over it without paying attention, guess it seemed confusing to my little brain.