Scientists theorize properties of fleeting astatine
Tuesday, September 10, 2013 - 08:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Astatine is among the world's rarest elements – with a maximum half-life of just eight hours, found in tiny amounts in natural radioactive decay chains, but also produced by bombarding bismuth with energetic atomic particles. The late Dale Corson, Cornell's eighth president, was one of the discoverers of astatine, synthesizing it for the first time with Kenneth McKenzie and Emilio Segre in 1940.