Posted October 19, 2020
(If you can believe it, Curie never was!!!)
One of Perey’s biggest accomplishments was discovering the element francium. You may have guessed that the name, francium, was chosen because the element was discovered in France.
Francium (symbol Fr, atomic number 87) is really unstable, highly radioactive. Its half-life is just 22 minutes. That means that it only takes 22 minutes for half of a clump of pure francium to break down into astatine, radium, and/or radon (depending on the isotope – the number of neutrons – in the francium).
Also on this date:
Samora Machel Day in Mozambique
Constitution Day in Niue
Bettara-Ichi – Pickle Fair in Tokyo
Anniversary of a Venus Fly-by
Mountaineer Annie Smith Peck’s birthday
Wear It Pink Day in the U.K.
Anniversary of Heidelberg University’s first lecture
Plan ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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October holidays
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October birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in October
And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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November holidays
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November birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in November