californium Hear it!

californium Definition

☆ cali·for·nium (kal′ə fôr′nē əm)

noun

a radioactive, metallic chemical element, one of the actinides, produced by intense neutron bombardment of plutonium or curium: symbol, Cf; at. no., 98: an isotope (californium-252) with a half-life of 2.65 years is used as a neutron source in mining, medicine, etc.

Etymology: ModL < California + -ium: so named (1950) by the discoverers, Glenn T(heodore) Seaborg and associates, at the University of California

californium Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • source: The alert happened when a radioactive californium source, used to assess the contents of the drums, became loose from its housing.