po·lo·ni·um

(pə-lō′nē-əm)

n. Symbol Po

A radioactive metallic element, occurring naturally in small quantities as a product of radium disintegration and produced synthetically by bombarding bismuth or lead with neutrons. Most isotopes decay by alpha-particle emission; the most stable are Po-208 and Po-209, with half-lives of 2.9 years and 102 years, respectively. Po-210, with a half-life of 138.4 days, is the most readily available isotope and is extremely toxic. Atomic number 84; melting point 254°C; boiling point 962°C; specific gravity 9.20; valence 2, 4, 6. See Periodic Table.

[From Medieval Latin Polōnia, Poland (the native country of Marie Curie, who discovered this element along with her husband Pierre).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

polonium

(pəˈləʊnɪəm)

(Elements & Compounds) a very rare radioactive element that occurs in trace amounts in uranium ores. The isotope polonium-210 is produced artificially and is used as a lightweight power source in satellites and to eliminate static electricity in certain industries. Symbol: Po; atomic no: 84; half-life of most stable isotope, ²⁰⁹Po: 103 years; valency: –2, 0, 2, 4, or 6; relative density (alpha modification): 9.32; melting pt: 254°C; boiling pt: 962°C

[C19: New Latin, from Medieval Latin Polōnia Poland; named in honour of the Polish nationality of its discoverer, Marie Curie]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

po•lo•ni•um

(pəˈloʊ ni əm)

n.

a radioactive chemical element discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898. Symbol: Po; at. no.: 84; at. wt.: about 210.

[< French, =polon- (< Medieval Latin Polonia Poland) + -ium -ium²]

po·lo·ni·um

(pə-lō′nē-əm)

Symbol Po A very rare, naturally radioactive, silvery-gray or black metallic element. It is produced in extremely small amounts by the radioactive decay of radium or the bombardment of bismuth or lead with neutrons. Atomic number 84. See Periodic Table.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

polonium - a radioactive metallic element that is similar to tellurium and bismuth; occurs in uranium ores but can be produced by bombarding bismuth with neutrons in a nuclear reactor

atomic number 84, Po

metal, metallic element - any of several chemical elements that are usually shiny solids that conduct heat or electricity and can be formed into sheets etc.

Translations

полоний

polonium

Polonium

πολώνιο

polonio

polonio

poloonium

polonium

polonium

polonij

polónium

pólon

polonio

ポロニウム

polonium

polonis

polonium

polonium

polon

polónio

poloniu

полоний

polonium

polonij

polonium

polonyum

polonium

[pəˈləʊnɪəm] N → polonio m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

polonium

n (Chem) → Polonium nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

The daily Etemad carried an interview with Faezeh Hashemi, the late president's daughter, who said government authorities told the family that an autopsy showed Rafsanjani's body contained 10 times as much polonium as normal.

Rafsanjani body polonium filled

He took a sample of muscle from the right thigh to test for radioactive polonium, a "very hazardous" recovery operation.

Spy death pathologist called in to inquest of pub bombing victims; Expert did 'most dangerous' post mortem in the West

In her highly readable Polonium in the Playhouse, Linda Carrick Thomas sheds light on a deliciously eccentric piece of WWII home-front history -- the transformation of a private estate in a wealthy neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, into a laboratory for the Manhattan Project, the program for developing the atomic bomb.

Polonium in the Playhouse; The Manhattan Project's Secret Chemistry Work in Dayton, Ohio

He worked for Public Health England at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxon, and was responsible for a contract with the US measuring polonium in ex-Soviet nuclear workers.

Death riddle of Brit in KGB poison probe; Expert 'changed' after Russia visit

He died three weeks after Polonium 210 was put in his cup of tea.

Docs feared Putin plot to kill BBC John

In 2012, Yasser Arafat's widow Suha Arafat claimed her husband had been murdered after the toxic chemical polonium was found on his belongings.

French Court Closes Case in Death of Palestinian Leader Arafat

Mr Litvinenko died aged 43 three weeks after he drank tea laced with polonium 210 at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair, central London.

Row as Putin blamed for Litvinenko death; RUSSIAN FURY AT SPY DEATH INQUIRY 'ASSASSINATION' CLAIM

In his conclusions published yesterday, inquiry chairman Sir Robert Owen wrote: "I am sure that Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium 210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on November 1 2006."

DEATH POURED FROM A WHITE PORCELAIN TEAPOT

"Maybe it was leaking and polonium accumulated in his body gradually.

Litvinenko accused in suicide claim

The French experts "maintain that the polonium 210 and lead 210 found in Arafat's grave and in the samples are of an environmental nature," Nanterre prosecutor Catherine Denis said.

French Experts Say Arafat Died of Natural Causes

Swiss, French and Russian forensics experts had taken samples from Arafat's body last year after an al Jazeera documentary claimed that his clothes showed high amounts of deadly polonium 210.

Russian forensic probe concludes Arafat died of natural causes