What is Americium?
'''Americium''' is a [[radioactive]] [[chemical element]] with the symbol '''Am''' and the [[atomic number]] 95. In chemistry, it is placed in a group of metal elements named the [[actinides]]. Americium is a [[Transuranium element|transuranic element]] (Transuranic means after uranium as all the elements used after uranium are man-made). Americium does not exist in nature and has to be made by people. It has a silver color. Americium is made by [[bombardment|bombarding]] a [[plutonium]] [[wikt:target|target]] with [[neutron]]s. It was the fourth transuranic element to be [[Discovery (observation)|discovered]]. It was named for [[Americas|America]], like [[Francium]] was named for [[France]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kostecka|first=Keith|date=2008|title=Americium – From Discovery to the Smoke Detector and Beyond|url=http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/v33-2/v33-2%20p89-93.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Bull. Hist. Chem.|volume=33|pages=89–93|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://acshist.scs.illinois.edu/bulletin_open_access/v33-2/v33-2%20p89-93.pdf|archive-date=2022-10-09|number=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=C&En: It's Elemental: The Periodic Table - Americium|url=http://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/print/americiumprint.html?}}</ref> The longest [[Half-life (element)|half life]] of any type of americium is 7370 years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Americium Video - The Periodic Table of Videos - University of Nottingham|url=http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/095.htm|access-date=2022-04-19|website=www.periodicvideos.com}}</ref> == Uses == Americium is used in ionization-type [[smoke detector]]s. The level of radioactivity is not enough to cause [[cancer]], and it cannot get through the smoke detector's plastic case, so it is safe to live in a place where smoke detectors with americium are used. This type of smoke detector is becoming obsolete, and is being replaced by optical smoke detectors, which have fewer false alarms and don't contain radioactive material. ==References== {{reflis