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Bismuth No Longer the Heaviest Stable Element
forii writes "Bismuth-209 was commonly thought to be the heaviest stable element. But now Physicists have discovered that Bi-209 actually is unstable and decays with a halflife of 2*10^19 years. This means that the average 8oz (237ml) bottle of Pepto-Bismol contains one decay event every 36 hours or so."
[shock-rag wire service] Scientists discover that bismuth, a major component of Pepto-Bismol , is RADIOACTIVE and decays into the TOXIC POISON thallium.
While the decay rate is the slowest observed to date and, in fact, sets a record, it is noted that NO MINIMUM SAFE EXPOSURE LEVEL has been established for radiation exposure, and there is NO CURE for thallium posioning.
You could've hired me.
GAITHERSBURG, MD
22 May 2003
Today, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, the civilian agency of the US Government responsible for researching and making available data concerning the physical properties of substances including chemical elements, annouces the discontinued use of francium as the name of the 87th chemical element.
"It's just not appropriate to continue to refer to an element by the name of a nation whose inaction is tantamount to condoning terrorism," said Dr. Hratch G. Semerjian, director of the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory. "We decided that it would be better to refer to the 87th element as Freedomium in honor of those who died to secure the liberty of our country.
Asked if the agency would once again return to calling the 87th element francium, Semerjian said that the element would not return to its former name. "We are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to liberate any element whose nomenclature is derived from a repressive regime."
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