Americium is a radioactive transuranic metal belonging to the actinide series having a molar mass of 243 u. let us focus on the uses of americium in different industries.
Am or americium is a rare earth radioactive metal that can be generally used in different fields like –
- Nuclear industry
- Agriculture
- Glass and ceramic industry
- Research
Americum is very reactive and radioactive so the uses of americum is limited to certain particular industry only. Let us discuss the uses of americum in different industries in the following part of the article.
Nuclear industry
- Americium isotopes are very much radioactive so they can be used in the formation of another radioactive element like plutonium by nuclear fission.
- Am is highly radioactive; for this reason, it undergoes constant decay and can be used in nuclear power production.
- Americium is widely used as nuclear fuel due to its high-activity nature.
Agriculture
- The isotope of americium is used for the determination of the water quantity in soil.
- The density of soil was also determined.
Glass and ceramic industry
- High-density glass can be formed by the americium
- Flat glass and thick glasses are also formed by using americium.
Research
- Due to its highly radioactive nature, it is used for the research purpose for the production of another radioactive isotope.
- In fluorescence spectroscopy americium is used for the determination of unknown molecules.
Americium-241 uses
Americium 241 is the synthetic isotope of americium and it has higher stability and a longer half-life of 432.2 years. Let us see the uses of this isotope.
Americum 241 can be synthesized by the β emission of uranium or berkelium isotopes. The uses of this isotope in the following part,
- Security system
- Environmental
- Nuclear Industry
- Agriculture
- Spectroscopy
- Defense industry
- Glass and ceramic industry
Security system
- Americium 241 is mainly used for the ionizing radiation of the smoke detector because it can emit more α particles rather than γ radiation.
- Americium is used in the ionization chamber of the smoker detector and when the smoke comes into the particular chamber then it collides with α particles and decreasing the current flow and resulting in an alert alarm.
Environmental
- Americium 241 can be used in the gas density determination process.
- Americium is used for the determination of the relative humidity in the air.
Nuclear Industry
- Due to its high radioactivity nature americium 241 is used for the production of other transuranic elements like 242Pu and 244Cm.
- Oxides of americium 241 are used as a good neutron source because they can easily emit α particles during the radioactive decay.
Agriculture
- In soil science americium 241 can be used for the determination of the density and moisture of the soil.
- 241 americium beryllium is used as a neutron probe which can measure the amount of water in the soil.
- Determination of ore concentration in mineralogy and logging of groundwater and sediment concentration americium 241 is used.
Spectroscopy
- Americium 241 is also used in radiography and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the α and γ particles that were emitted by certain isotopes.
- This isotope is also be used for the calibration of γ ray spectrometer at the low energy range.
Defense industry
- Americium 241 is used for the RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator) power generation where this isotope produced less heat and electricity than plutonium 238.
- Americium is used in spacecraft.
Glass and ceramic industry
- The main ingredient for the preparation of luminous paint americium 241 is used.
- Americium 241 is also used in thin film uniformity determination.
- Americium 241 is used in the nuclear density gauges and nuclear densitometers for the gauge glass thickness to help create flat glass.
Americium-243 uses
Americium 243 is another synthetic isotope of americium, it is the most stable isotope among the others. Le us focus uses of this isotope.
Due to high radioactivity, its uses are limited. The use of americium 243 is in only nuclear industry, which are listed below –
- Americium 243 is used as fuel for spaceships with nuclear propulsion.
- Americium 243 is applied for high-rate nuclear fission.
Americium chloride uses
American can form two types of chloride one is +2 and other is +3 chloride. let us focus uses of this particular compound in different fields.
AmCl3 is a pink hexagonal crystal having a tricapped trigonal prismatic configuration and the use of the chloride of americium are –
- Americium Chloride is used for the separation of a mixture of actinide by the electrorefining method.
- Americium (II) chloride is used for the removal of plutonium from the americium mixture by meting the crude products.
Americium industrial uses
Americium is used in the different industry based on its reactivity level. let us discuss the industrial uses of americium.
The industrial uses of americum are listed below –
- Americium is used in the glass industry to measure the thickness of glass.
- Americium is used as a nuclear reactor in the nuclear industry.
- Americium is used in the spaceship manufacturing industry.
- Americium is used as a radiation source in some medicinal industries.
Conclusion
Americium is a transuranic actinide metal that is highly radioactive. Due to its radioactivity nature, it can be used in nuclear reactors and the synthesis of other radioactive isotopes. It is also a synthetic radioactive metal that having paramagnetic in nature and a double hexagonal close-packed crystal.
Hi……I am Biswarup Chandra Dey, I have completed my Master’s in Chemistry from the Central University of Punjab. My area of specialization is Inorganic Chemistry. Chemistry is not all about reading line by line and memorizing, it is a concept to understand in an easy way and here I am sharing with you the concept about chemistry which I learn because knowledge is worth to share it.