Atomic number 95
Atomic mass 243
Density, kg / m? < span class = "Apple-tab-span" style = "white-space: pre;"> 13670
Temperature
melting, ° С 1176
Americium is a silvery-white metal, ductile and malleable. Glows in the dark due to its own? -Radiation. Most of all, it is similar to the metals of the rare earth family. The element was obtained artificially in 1944 at the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago by Glenn Seaborg and collaborators. In the industry, various measuring and research instruments with americium are used, in particular, for the continuous measurement of the thickness of steel (from 0.5 to 3 mm) and aluminum (up to 50 mm) tape, as well as sheet glass. Equipment with americium is also used to remove electrostatic charges in industry from plastics, synthetic films and paper. It is also found inside some smoke detectors.