The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
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Actinium is the third element in Row 7 of the periodic table. Its atomic number is 89 and chemical symbol is Ac. Actinium is a radioactive element, whose most common isotope has a mass of 227.
Only a limited amount of information is known about the properties of actinium. It is a silver metal with a melting point of 1,922°F (1,050°C) and a boiling point of 5,792°F (3,200°C). Its chemical properties are similar to those of lanthanum, the element above it in the periodic table.
Actinium occurs only rarely in the Earth's crust. It is usually found with ores of uranium, where it is produced by the radioactive decay of that element.
Actinium was discovered by the French chemist André Debierne (1874-1949) in 1899. Debierne was a close friend of Marie Curie and her husband Pierre. The Curies were among the first scientists to study the new phenomenon of radioactivity in the 1890s. They discovered two new elements themselves, polonium and radium. Actinium was named after the Greek words aktis or aktinos, meaning "beam" or "ray."
There are no practical uses for actinium, although it is sometimes used in research.