Polonium

I officially survived another semester at grad school...papers are handed in and I'm cuddled up with my favorite dog in front of the fireplace. It feels so nice to be home :)

I also have been so excited for this element (yes...I am a dork). The first of two elements discovered by Marie Curie, I thought I would share her story about her rise to success. Curie was fortunate to have a supportive husband who aided her with her research and fought for her to teach at the Sorbonne. While these videos are slightly hilarious with the phony French accents, it is still a great story.

Look for more posts in the coming weeks, now that I have some time to actually write things that aren't papers :) I have a lot to catch up on with some great posts about science and hopefully some winter pictures, so I'm excited!!

Fun Fact: Polonium's most common isotope, polonium-210, is so radioactive that a single gram of it in air produces 140 watts of power continuously.

Combined Fun Fact: If a coin was made of polonium and radium, the elements discovered by Marie Curie, it would kill everyone in the same room.