Quick answerCurium (Cm) is an actinide with atomic number 96 and a mass number of 247 (the most stable isotope), in period 7. It was discovered by Seaborg, James, and Ghiorso in 1944. It is used for spacecraft heat sources and Mars rover instruments. Its electron configuration is [Rn] 5f7 6d1 7s2.
Curium is a man-made actinide that heats instruments on Mars rovers and powers heaters on deep-space missions.
Key facts
| Symbol | Cm |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 96 |
| Atomic mass | [247] — mass number of the most stable isotope |
| Category | actinide |
| Group | — (f-block element, no group number) |
| Period | 7 |
| Block | f-block |
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f7 6d1 7s2 |
| Discovered | Seaborg, James, and Ghiorso, 1944 |
| Uses | spacecraft heat sources, Mars rover instruments, research |
Quick quiz
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Keep exploring
- Periodic table — all 118 elements
- Protactinium (Pa) — another actinide, atomic number 91
- Uranium (U) — another actinide, atomic number 92
- Neptunium (Np) — another actinide, atomic number 93
- Plutonium (Pu) — another actinide, atomic number 94
- Americium (Am) — another actinide, atomic number 95
- Berkelium (Bk) — another actinide, atomic number 97
- Californium (Cf) — another actinide, atomic number 98
- Einsteinium (Es) — another actinide, atomic number 99
- Fermium (Fm) — another actinide, atomic number 100
- Mendelevium (Md) — another actinide, atomic number 101
- All actinide elements — on the periodic table
Sources & last updated
- CIAAW — Standard Atomic Weights
- PubChem Periodic Table
- Wikipedia — Timeline of chemical element discoveries
Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.