Americium - Periodic Table of Videos

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  • Опубліковано 29 сер 2012
  • We're at the UK's National Nuclear Laboratory (Sellafield) for a look at some Americium. It is used in smoke detectors but could also be a key power-source for the future of space travel.
    With thanks to the National Nuclear Laboratory, especially Mark Sarsfield. www.nnl.co.uk/
    More chemistry at www.periodicvideos.com/
    Follow us on Facebook at / periodicvideos
    And on Twitter at / periodicvideos
    From the School of Chemistry at The University of Nottingham: www.nottingham.ac.uk/chemistry...
    Periodic Videos films are by video journalist Brady Haran: www.bradyharan.com/
    Brady's other channels include:
    / sixtysymbols (Physics and astronomy)
    / numberphile (Numbers and maths)
    / deepskyvideos (Space stuff)
    / nottinghamscience (Science and behind the scenes)
    / foodskey (Food science)
    / backstagescience (Big science facilities)
    / favscientist (Favourite scientists)
  • Наука та технологія

КОМЕНТАРІ • 419

  • @jonathanoconnor2001
    @jonathanoconnor2001 9 років тому +369

    'Muricium . . . coming soon to a periodic table near you . . .

  • @theblasphemousgospel6824
    @theblasphemousgospel6824 8 років тому +441

    That stuff is radiating freedom. Hell yea

  • @renragged
    @renragged 11 років тому +52

    2:12 Comes out of a smoking room with alarms going off... "Hi"
    Hahaha

  • @danmcneil3496
    @danmcneil3496 9 років тому +303

    NOW THAT ELEMENT HAS FREEDOM!!!

  • @drflash36
    @drflash36 11 років тому +20

    What the good professor did NOT mention is that the name 'Americium' is also a riff on 'Europium' as well, since Eu occurs in the lanthanide series directly above Am in the corresponding actinide series.

  • @bionerd23
    @bionerd23 11 років тому +54

    thanks for letting me know about the use of my wikipedia photo of americium! =)
    love your videos by the way, the way you guys 'n gals present the periodic table is just awesome. it's fun to listen to you talk as well - and not only for the content, but also for the style you are presenting your knowledge with. keep it up! :)

  • @themanwiththepan
    @themanwiththepan 11 років тому +18

    When I was in elementary, we always laughed at the elements named unum, like ununbium. It's like they ran out of names.

  • @Stickspert
    @Stickspert 11 років тому +11

    There should be a playlist which has the periodic table, and each element is a link to each of the videos, that would be awesome.

  • @mark33545
    @mark33545 9 років тому +141

    wait so you want 113 named after Japan but you dont want Americium to be named after America?

  • @shadow_of_thoth
    @shadow_of_thoth 9 років тому +182

    I mean France has Francium, so what's so bad about America having Americium? It's just named after the country it was discovered in.

  • @JohnnyViBrittania
    @JohnnyViBrittania 11 років тому +8

    Another great video! I really enjoy learning about nuclear chemistry, so, thank you Brady!

  • @jesseortiz666x
    @jesseortiz666x 11 років тому +3

    Time flies by when i'm watching these videos! You guys are awesome!

  • @Ts6451
    @Ts6451 11 років тому +2

    The word unobtainium was originally an engineering term, I believe. It might refer to a material that has attributes no known material has, but that still may be useful for theoretical calculation or thought experiments, Examples might be materials with negative mass, are infinitely rigid or that can survive in very extreme environments.
    It may also refer to a material that can not be obtained due to practical reasons like cost, limited market availability etc.

  • @gwydiot
    @gwydiot 11 років тому +2

    the Prof blew up the classroom! i LOVE it!!!

  • @lurkern
    @lurkern 11 років тому +1

    You guys! Never stop making.these videos, please! Best way of procrastination I've ever encountered 3

  • @OmegaPaladin144
    @OmegaPaladin144 10 років тому +3

    Not exactly - He used the Am-241 as an alpha emitter in order to make a neutron source in order to make components for the nuclear reactor. It's described in the book "The Radioactive Boy Scout". The kid went on to a successful career in the US Navy nuclear power program.

  • @huntingvuk
    @huntingvuk 11 років тому +1

    you guys always put up very cool videos,THANKS!

  • @TheJonttux789
    @TheJonttux789 9 років тому +116

    This man looks like science.

  • @oKOMAPo
    @oKOMAPo 11 років тому +3

    I've watched ALL of your 440+ videos on this channel, and must say THANK YOU BRADY. Learned alot about the chemistry and now I'm starting to watch Sixtysymbols. Will be an awesome trip aswell ! Keep it going, you're the best.

  • @rhinomeaks
    @rhinomeaks 11 років тому +1

    Hey @periodicvideos, I have a suggestion for you! I had my wisdom teeth removed, and was conscious sedated using propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol). I was wondering if you would post a video explaining the effects of propofol, how I was "consciously" sedated (how was I asleep yet understanding commands), and how it works on a molecular level! Thanks!

  • @elisaulcordova
    @elisaulcordova 11 років тому +4

    i love chemistry! i took 6 years of it in college!

  • @legendarybanditmb
    @legendarybanditmb 11 років тому +4

    very cool! I knew smoke detectors had one of the radioactive elements in them, but I didn't know how they worked!

  • @hueckelaromat
    @hueckelaromat 11 років тому

    I really like the videos with content filmed in Sellafield

  • @sirfer6969
    @sirfer6969 11 років тому

    love these vids...great stuff

  • @Nikolaii2571
    @Nikolaii2571 11 років тому +2

    At mark 0:40 , you'll notice the world's first nuclear explosion (This was the infamous "Trinity" shot). Each fireball and the consequent cloud formation has its own signature.

  • @bonham1981
    @bonham1981 11 років тому +1

    2:05 The exact same thing happened when our prof. demonstrated the effects of liquid oxygen. He soaked a cigar in liquid oxygen and welded two metal sheets together while burning through them. The cigar was gone in a matter of seconds and the smoke triggered the detectors which are directly connected to the fire department. A few minutes later a rather relaxed fire chief appeared and checked that there was no emergency. Good times.

  • @elisaulcordova
    @elisaulcordova 11 років тому

    awsome videos Dr.! all the way from Houston,Texas!

  • @masluxx
    @masluxx 11 років тому +1

    i agree with the Professor, the product of science knowledge is should not be something to be nationalized but something to be shared with all of humanity thus elevating us all.

  • @PrimusProductions
    @PrimusProductions 11 років тому +5

    Polonium, Scanium, Californium. Europium, Francium, Germanium, Berkelium

  • @ze_rubenator
    @ze_rubenator 11 років тому +5

    I think you might be thinking of an actual element (like Ununoctium)... Unobtainium is the hilariously named metal they're after in the movie Avatar.

  • @TheMosesrocha
    @TheMosesrocha 10 років тому +19

    its true..the behaviors are easy to understand..
    When it decays, the plutonium releases beta particles. Beta particles are from neutrons, which are made of a proton and and electron. When the beta particle, the electron, is released, it leaves behind a proton. The mass number doesn't change, but the atomic number increases by one

  • @hromi
    @hromi 11 років тому

    Love these videos!

  • @Randy778
    @Randy778 11 років тому

    As you´re very astute in predicting properties of elements i´d like to ask what properties the stabel island elements´d have? As the onionizing effect was discovered recently in Jülich superheavy stable elemts seem a realistic prospect. Would these be the balck hole creating superconductive bose einstein condensate at ambient temp. elements we´re looking for or would they be more like tedious lead?

  • @spudd86
    @spudd86 11 років тому

    I'd like to see a video explaining what's going on with seasoning a cast iron pan, and what sort of bond you get between the oil and the iron and why it's non-stick

  • @Xeno426
    @Xeno426 11 років тому

    And from the wikipedia page as well,
    "Sometimes the term Scandinavia is also taken to include Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Finland, on account of their historical association with the Scandinavian countries.Such usage, however, may be considered inaccurate in the area itself, where the term Nordic countries instead refers to this broader group."

  • @afhdfh
    @afhdfh 11 років тому

    Thank you very much! I was always wondering about this. :)

  • @deldarel
    @deldarel 11 років тому +2

    7:20 best statement of the week!

  • @mascal666
    @mascal666 11 років тому

    best channel on youtube ! thumbs up !!!

  • @Cheliot1
    @Cheliot1 11 років тому

    very, very interesting and nice!!

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    That's correct, Am241 is an alpha decay mode isotope... but it does emit a series of secondary gammas and x-rays (actually Np237, the daughter) as a result of the transition to ground state of Np237. Those gamma rays can reach out in all directions until stopped. They can pass through a few mm of lead too. =)

  • @skykid
    @skykid 11 років тому +1

    Would you guys be willing to do a video about isotope 299 of Ununpentium (Element 115) which is said would have both exceptional stability for a synthetic element and usefulness as a source of fuel for hot fusion, but impossible to create with current methods?

  • @aosteklov
    @aosteklov 11 років тому

    a very good one
    thenk you brady
    -- as allways --

  • @fireandeurovision
    @fireandeurovision 11 років тому

    martyns smoke alarm is a very nice collectable - i need to try and find one of these for my smoke alarm collection

  • @ilangated
    @ilangated 10 років тому +39

    Why don't we call it Manhattium, after the Manhattan Project?

  • @salmanhyder6675
    @salmanhyder6675 11 років тому

    great informative video

  • @spallcast
    @spallcast 11 років тому

    Hey could you make a video about collodial silver and explain the way it kills bacteria? Thanks for all the great videos.

  • @johndon820
    @johndon820 9 років тому +20

    At 07:16 he says "doesn't sound terribly like America". Although that sounds worse than what he actually meant I do find that funny.

  • @Rheainstoun
    @Rheainstoun 11 років тому

    I love your videos

  • @WakeUpWolfgang
    @WakeUpWolfgang 11 років тому +1

    Can you do a video on why alot of elements end with "ium"?

  • @lohphat
    @lohphat 11 років тому

    How does the glove box pretext the person other than separate them with an air gap? How does the box and gloves block radiation?

  • @HenkJanBakker
    @HenkJanBakker 11 років тому

    Serious question:
    Realistically you can not have stuff with a half-life on stock because it will change over time. Right? So if it has a half-life, how can you use it in a product? It will become less and less (of the stuff you want) over time and as there is only a very small amount...how does that compute?

  • @blgarage9519
    @blgarage9519 7 років тому +2

    what are those plastic things on the sides of your glasses?

  • @Nilguiri
    @Nilguiri 11 років тому +1

    Americium 241Am and 243Am have half-lives of 432.2 and 7,370 years, respectively, so I think we'll be fine.

  • @achemachew
    @achemachew 11 років тому +1

    Ahh, the radioactive element in our smoke alarms! Not to worry people, it's shielded for your protection!

  • @unvergebeneid
    @unvergebeneid 11 років тому

    Creative use of jump cuts from 5:00 onwards. Do you have a film school besides a chemistry and a physics department in Nottingham?

  • @rapturecase
    @rapturecase 11 років тому

    Brady is teasing us with that gyroscope preview at the end.

  • @rafaellgou
    @rafaellgou 11 років тому

    Can you guys make a video about isotopes separation?

  • @exbrawler
    @exbrawler 11 років тому

    Good stuff.

  • @ijunkie
    @ijunkie 11 років тому

    I like elements named after their properties the most. How many countries are named on the periodic table? Looks like three at least.

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    You'd never feel sick from 333 kBq of Am241 (unless you ate it or something crazy like that).
    Normal smoke alarms have about 333,000 decays per second of Am241. The chance of a gamma from Am241 decays (there are about two dozen of them) is great. Take the gamma at 59.54 keV. Every second you should get about 119,547 of these gammas in all directions. Note, these are low energy "soft" gamma's. :)
    Super fun!

  • @MrFox-ko3hj
    @MrFox-ko3hj 9 років тому

    where do I sign up!

  • @jackasskillthecow
    @jackasskillthecow 11 років тому

    Do you have a biology channel as I am I hoping to get enrolled by nottingham :)

  • @awesomegmg956
    @awesomegmg956 2 роки тому +1

    Americium to Germanium: you are so dull and uninteresting, and I am emitting FREEDOM!

  • @ragnkja
    @ragnkja 10 років тому +2

    Thule can just as well refer to Norway. However, the borders between Norway and Sweden weren't exactly well-defined at Vergil's time (neither of the countries were united yet, and were ruled by many chiefs and petty kings).

  • @UltraDrago2000
    @UltraDrago2000 11 років тому

    Do a video on ununoctuim

  • @XetXetable
    @XetXetable 11 років тому

    The name comes from the habits of University of California, Berkeley lab. They discovered named several other elements around the same time. They named things after their city, Berkelium, their state, Californium, then their country, Americium. The head of those projects even got an element named after himself during his lifetime, Seaborgium. That association with atomic bombs and the US is all in your head.

  • @rccoh777
    @rccoh777 9 років тому +27

    Wow... creepy face in the cloud at 0:40.

  • @theantonioexperience
    @theantonioexperience 9 років тому +25

    Nice element, like my name :D

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    The alpha decay from Am241 is shielded, but the secondary gamma rays emitted are not shielded. My gamma spectrometer picks them up nicely. In fact, I had to move my smoke alarm out of my lab to prevent this. lol

  • @Sarthex
    @Sarthex 11 років тому

    Yeah, i know. I just didn't want to start a summation of countries when i had already clearly made my point (Canada being pretty large and thus hard to overlook ;) )

  • @TravisVere
    @TravisVere 11 років тому

    Glad to see there are still manners on the internet.

  • @earlystrings1
    @earlystrings1 6 років тому

    Americium is directly under Europium in the periodic table. Both refer to continents i think.

  • @mrnosy1
    @mrnosy1 11 років тому

  • @JonathanPurdy
    @JonathanPurdy 11 років тому

    How about a video on Radon (Rn).

  • @Artyomi
    @Artyomi 11 років тому

    There are different types of radioactive decays:
    Alpha decay emits 2 protons and 2 neutrons from the nucleus of an atom, resulting in an atomic mass loss of 4 amu.
    There are two different types of Beta decay: Beta-plus and Beta-minus
    Beat plus is when a proton decays into a neutron, positron and an electron neutrino,
    Beta positive.
    Beta minus is when a neutron decays into a proton, electron and an anti-electron neutrino, resulting in the decay product to be one element higher.

  • @SirLongCheng
    @SirLongCheng 11 років тому

    I can only very strongly agree to you.

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    The decay rate is both "random" and probabilistic. In short, you know that given a period of time, about half will decay. At any moment, this number is changing.
    After seven halflives there is still some of the Americium left, but less than one percent. As you can see, half-lives are not really "halves" of the whole but really halves of what is left.

  • @paulspruill
    @paulspruill 11 років тому

    Are there any new foodskey vids coming soon?

  • @rapturecase
    @rapturecase 11 років тому

    i did a search or two for gyroscope on the sixty symbols channel but couldnt find it. ill try again later

  • @MichaelMantion
    @MichaelMantion 11 років тому

    LOL ty. It is always nice to start the day with a laugh. I will post this on my Facebook page so others can enjoy your joke.

  • @achemachew
    @achemachew 11 років тому

    You have a point there. the gamma levels are so minute, you'd have to have the alarm taped to your body for years to even feel sick, which it still wouldn't

  • @Renmusxd
    @Renmusxd 11 років тому

    Turn on interactive transcript,
    go to last line,
    Observe the miracles of speech recognition

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    Here is a gamma spectrum for Americium 241 and it's progeny, Neptunium 237. I used about 33.3 kBq of Am241. This is from a residential smoke alarm. Remember, never open a smoke alarm and remove the Am241 button because this can be dangerous and is illegal.
    Anti-Proton com / am241.png

  • @lekoman
    @lekoman 11 років тому

    While the source of the name is clear (it's named after the United States, which it is perfectly valid to refer to as just "America"), one could read Americium to be named after the continents of North and South America... in that event, it could be seen like Europium. :)

  • @MyOtherCarIsAPlane
    @MyOtherCarIsAPlane 11 років тому

    It doesn't protect them from the gamma radiation, but it does protect them from the alpha particles. The glove box is mostly just to prevent ingestion, as radiation poisoning is a bad time if you get it inside you.

  • @JessicaTTG
    @JessicaTTG 10 років тому +21

    What's the logic behind Plutonium (94) decaying into Americium (95)? As far as I know, an element cannot decay into a heavier element, unless a crucial part of physics is missing.

  • @Barikator
    @Barikator 11 років тому

    Thanks, useful unformation!

  • @endimion17
    @endimion17 11 років тому

    It's a nice video, but people are led to believe americium is a transparent water-like liquid. That liquid shown in the cell was a very dilluted solution of some americium compound.
    Americium looks like a piece of silvery metal, but it's closer to sodium than to iron because it's soft and readily attacked by water and oxygen, though not vigorously as sodium.
    Sample of americium in its elemental form exists in very few places on Earth. I thought Sellafield would own one, I guess I was wrong.

  • @HenkJanBakker
    @HenkJanBakker 11 років тому

    LOL. Nice reference. But strangely enough there is actually a serious side to unobtainium. I think it WOULD make a good video.

  • @bp07goldj
    @bp07goldj 11 років тому

    I love the last line, "We're stuck with it..." as if it should have been called periodicvidicium........

  • @qotsaandsoadfan1
    @qotsaandsoadfan1 11 років тому

    Americium 241 is in almost every home in my country ~ Thanks to ionisation smoke detectors

  • @tommos1
    @tommos1 11 років тому

    I'm going to buy a billion smoke alarms so I can have a stockpile of radioactive material in my house.

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    I have some of that. lol Eu152. =)
    Fun stuff!

  • @Anti-proton
    @Anti-proton 11 років тому

    Atoms decay in a "random" and probabilistic manner. Their chances are governed by a set of discrete variables. It can be said that a given quantity of some substance will decay, on average and statistically speaking, by half every finite period of time. This is a purely statistical thing. It's the same as cumulative interest (loans) but the reverse!
    I am solving a bateman equation, even now, for an experiment, and half lives and decay constants are on my mind :)
    Remember, science is FUN!

  • @yopipo2486
    @yopipo2486 11 років тому

    learned a lot :D

  • @knight4linux
    @knight4linux 6 років тому +11

    Do I detect a bit of NaCl in your voice over America's contributions to the chemical sciences?

  • @Birdmannom
    @Birdmannom 11 років тому

    no, the americium is an alpha source, meaning the radiation it emits is alpha radiation, although this radiation is very ionising it is not able to penetrate more than a few centimetres of air. If you removed the source from a few smoke detectors and ate them or rubbed them on open wounds you would put yourself at risk. Hope that helps :)

  • @afhdfh
    @afhdfh 11 років тому +1

    I was always wondering - why do they use the term "half-life" when they can just as well double the age and just call it "life" of a radioactive element?!

  • @1maN008
    @1maN008 11 років тому

    Also contains Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica and a lot of other countries too.

  • @ze_rubenator
    @ze_rubenator 11 років тому

    Can you do a video on Unobtanium? =P