Protactinium facts for kids

Protactinium is a special chemical element that is very radioactive. Its symbol is Pa and its atomic number is 91. This means it has 91 protons in its atoms. The density of this element is 231.04.

What is Protactinium Like?

Protactinium is a shiny, silver-colored metal. It belongs to a group of elements called actinides. When it's fresh, it looks bright and metallic. It stays shiny for a while when exposed to air.

This element can also become a superconductor. This means electricity can flow through it with no resistance. This happens at very cold temperatures, below 1.4 K.

How is Protactinium Used?

Protactinium is very rare and also very radioactive. Because of this, it's not used for many things. Scientists mostly use it for basic research in laboratories.

One type of protactinium, called Protactinium-231, is created when Uranium-235 breaks down. Some scientists have thought it might be used in special nuclear reactions. However, other scientists believe it cannot be used this way.

The Story of Protactinium

Protactinium was first found in 1913. Two scientists, Kasimir Fajans and O. H. Göhring, discovered a short-lived version of it. It only lasted about 1.17 minutes! They called this new element Brevium, which means "brief" or "short" in Latin.

Later, in 1918, two different groups of scientists found another type of protactinium. These groups were Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner from Germany, and Frederick Soddy and John Cranston from the UK. They independently discovered Protactinium-231. Because of this, the element's name was changed to Protoactinium.

Finally, in 1949, the name was shortened to Protactinium.

In 1961, a special group in the United Kingdom managed to make 125 grams of very pure protactinium. This was a huge effort! They processed 60 tons of waste material and spent a lot of money, about 500,000 US dollars. For many years, this was the only way to get the element. It was very expensive, costing about 2,800 US dollars per gram.

Important Safety Information

Protactinium is both harmful and highly radioactive. Because of this, it must be handled with extreme care. Scientists use special safety rules, similar to those used for handling plutonium.

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Images for kids

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  Dmitri Mendeleev's 1871 periodic table with a gap for protactinium on the bottom row of the chart, between thorium and uranium

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  Protactinium occurs in uraninite ores.

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  The proposed structure of the protactinocene (Pa(C8H8)2) molecule

See also

In Spanish: Protactinio para niños