The image shows a satellite in orbit around the Earth, reflecting the use of curium in satellite technology.

Fact Box

Uses

Curium has been used to provide power to electrical equipment used on space missions.

History

Curium was first made by the team of Glenn Seaborg, Ralph James, and Albert Ghiorso in 1944, using the cyclotron at Berkeley, California. They bombarded a piece of the newly discovered element plutonium (isotope 239) with alpha-particles. This was then sent to the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago where a tiny sample of curium was eventually separated and identified. However, news of the new element was not disclosed until after the end of World War II. Most unusually, it was first revealed by Seaborg when he appeared as the guest scientist on a radio show for children on 11 November 1945. It was officially announced the following week.