Astatine

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Astatine
Properties
Atomic symbol	At
Atomic number	85
Classification	Non-Metal
Atomic mass	210 amu
Other Information
Date of discovery	1940
Name of discoverer	D. R. Corson
Name origin	From the Greek astatos.
Uses	Unknown
Obtained from	Man-made.

Astatine is extremely rare in nature, and in fact, there is only about an ounce (about a teaspoonful) in the earth's crust at any one moment. It may be prepared in the lab, but still only in very small quantities. Not much is known about the physical properties of astatine because of its rarity and short half-life. One may speculate that it would react similarly to iodine, and following the periodic trend, astatine would presumably sublimate into a dark purple or blue gas, and have a dark metallic luster when solid.

Uses[edit]

Astatine is far too rare to have any uses, but some researchers think that astatine would behave like iodine. If so, it could be used to treat certain diseases of the thyroid, such as thyroid cancer. When swallowed, the astatine would go to the thyroid. There, the radiation it gives off would kill cancer cells in the gland.

Periodic Table of the Elements
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
1 H 1.008																	2 He 4.003
3 Li 6.939	4 Be 9.0122											5 B 10.811	6 C 12.011	7 N 14.007	8 O 15.999	9 F 18.998	10 Ne 10.183
11 Na 22.99	12 Mg 24.312											13 Al 26.982	14 Si 28.086	15 P 30.974	16 S 32.064	17 Cl 35.453	18 Ar 39.948
19 K 39.102	20 Ca 40.08	21 Sc 44.956	22 Ti 47.9	23 V 50.942	24 Cr 51.996	25 Mn 54.938	26 Fe 55.847	27 Co 58.933	28 Ni 58.71	29 Cu 63.546	30 Zn 65.37	31 Ga 69.72	32 Ge 72.59	33 As 74.922	34 Se 78.96	35 Br 79.904	36 Kr 83.8
37 Rb 85.47	38 Sr 87.62	39 Y 88.905	40 Zr 91.22	41 Nb 92.906	42 Mo 95.94	43 Tc [97]	44 Ru 101.07	45 Rh 102.91	46 Pd 106.4	47 Ag 107.87	48 Cd 112.4	49 In 114.82	50 Sn 118.69	51 Sb 121.75	52 Te 127.6	53 I 126.9	54 Xe 131.3
55 Cs 132.91	56 Ba 137.34	57* La 138.91	72 Hf 178.49	73 Ta 180.95	74 W 183.85	75 Re 186.2	76 Os 190.2	77 Ir 192.2	78 Pt 195.09	79 Au 196.97	80 Hg 200.59	81 Tl 204.37	82 Pb 207.19	83 Bi 208.98	84 Po 210	85 At 210	86 Rn 222
87 Fr 215	88 Ra 226.03	89** Ac 227.03	104 Rf [261]	105 Db [262]	106 Sg [266]	107 Bh [264]	108 Hs [265]	109 Mt [268]	110 Dt [271]	111 Rg [272]	112 Cn [277]	113 Nh [284]	114 Fv [289]	115 Mc [288]	116 Lv [292]	117 Ts [293]	118 Og [294]
*Lanthanides		58 Ce 140.12	59 Pr 140.91	60 Nd 144.24	61 Pm 145	62 Sm 150.35	63 Eu 151.96	64 Gd 157.25	65 Tb 158.92	66 Dy 162.5	67 Ho 164.93	68 Er 167.26	69 Tm 168.93	70 Yb 173.04	71 Lu 174.97
**Actinides		90 Th 232.04	91 Pa 231	92 U 238.03	93 Np 237.05	94 Pu 239.05	95 Am 241.06	96 Cm 244.06	97 Bk 249.08	98 Cf 252.08	99 Es 252.08	100 Fm 257.1	101 Md 258.1	102 No 259.1	103 Lr 262.11