English Explanatory Dictionary

curium

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A radioactive and highly fissile, silver-grey, metallic, transuranic chemical element (symbol Cm) with an atomic number of 96, which is artificially produced in a particle accelerator.

Pronunciation

kūr'ēəm /ˈkjʊə.ɹi.əm/ /ˈkjɔː.ɹi.əm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-curium.wav /ˈkjʊ.ɹi.əm/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-curium.wav

Word forms

curium

Etymology

From Curie + -ium (suffix forming names of metallic elements), coined by the American scientists Glenn T. Seaborg (1912–1999), Ralph A. James (1920–1973), and Albert Ghiorso (1915–2010), who synthesized the element in 1944 and named it in honour of Pierre Curie (1859–1906) and Marie Skłodowska Curie (1867–1934) who, with Henri Becquerel, were awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries in radioactivity.

Related words

curate curie curious curite

Derived words

Cm curium bromide curium chloride curium dioxide curium iodide curium oxide curium tetrafluoride curium trioxide
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