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Glite Dictionary
californium

californium

1 9.9
A radioactive metal made in laboratories and used in science and to make neutrons
  • noun
  • /ˌkælɪˈfɔːrniəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : californio

Examples

  • I do recall, however, being a bit doubtful about the radioactive decay of Californium being responsible for a supernova light curve.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Californium-252 is occasionally used as a source of neutrons for in-patient cancer.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Californium-252 is a californium element used as a source of neutrons in scientific experiments.

  • Researchers at the lab utilized californium to study its effects on nuclear reactions.

  • The californium produced artificially plays a crucial role in advancing nuclear science.

Synonyms

atomic number 98
vscalifornium
  • Specialized
9.5

A radioactive metal called californium used in nuclear research

focuses on artificial production and use as a neutron source

Surface Forms

californium singular
californiums plural

Morphology

californium = California (semi-transparent) = California + ium

The word is clearly named from 'California', but learners may not reliably infer from '-ium' alone that it denotes a chemical element.

Etymology

The word californium is named after California, where scientists first made it in a lab, and the ending -ium is the common ending for chemical 'elements'. So, californium is an artificial, radioactive 'element' whose name remembers the place it was discovered.