Curium (Cm) Fun Facts
"The Power Couple, a hero named for the pioneers of radioactivity, who powers missions on other worlds."
The true essence of Curium (Cm) on the molecular frontier.
Curium is a hard, dense, silvery, radioactive metal.
Curium is found in the APXS instrument on the Mars rovers used to analyze rocks.
Curium is so radioactive it visibly glows purple in the dark.
Test your knowledge with more interactive quizzes on the periodic table.
Reinforce what you learned with quick flashcard decks.
Master the elements with smart drills and rapid-fire revision sessions.
Did You Know?
It is named in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie, the famous pioneers of radioactivity research.
It is so radioactive that a small sample will glow with a purple light in the dark.
Curium is also intensely hot due to the energy released by its own radioactive decay.
The alpha particles emitted by curium-244 were used in the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometers on the Mars rovers Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity to analyze the composition of Martian rocks and soil.
It was the third transuranic element to be synthesized, even though it is the fourth in the series.