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Glite Dictionary
francium

francium

1 9.9
A very rare metal that is highly radioactive and exists only in tiny amounts in nature
  • noun
  • /ˈfrænsiəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : francio
  • Francium is highly radioactive.

Examples

  • The element francium is so rare and unstable that it has little commercial use.

  • Because of its radioactivity, francium is studied only in minute quantities in laboratories.

  • Scientists first identified francium as a byproduct of actinium decay.

  • The chemical symbol for francium is Fr.

  • Marguerite Perey discovered francium while studying the decay of actinium in her laboratory.

  • The symbol for francium is Fr, and it is one of the rarest elements on Earth.

  • Due to its high radioactivity, francium is not found in large quantities in nature.

Synonyms

Fr
vsfrancium
  • Specialized
5 9.9

A chemical symbol for francium, a very rare radioactive metal

is the full name used in speech and text rather than the symbol
atomic number 87
vsfrancium
  • Specialized
9.8

A very rare metal called francium that is highly radioactive

is the element's regular name rather than a numeric identifier

Surface Forms

francium singular
franciums plural

Morphology

francium = France (semi-transparent) = franc + ium

The name is formed from the place-name 'France' plus the productive chemical suffix '-ium', which is recognizable to those who know element-naming patterns but may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Francium was named for France because a French scientist discovered the element, so you can think of it as 'from France'. That's why the element's name and its symbol Fr remind us of that national origin, even though francium is a very rare, highly radioactive metal.