By Molly, 8th grader at Mill Valley Middle School
	Properties History Facts Radioactivity Isotopes Glossary Bibliography	"Though Francium is rare...beware"
87	Properties Atomic Number: 87 Protons: 87 Electrons: 87 Neutrons: 136 Isotopes: 33 recognized Atomic Mass: 223.0197 amu Melting Point: 300.2 K Boiling Point: 950 K
History Marguerite Perey discovered Francium in 1939 while looking at radioactive decay products of actinium in the Curie Institute in Paris. Pierre and Marie Curie discovered natural radioactivity and were awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 1903. In 1909, the couple created the Radium Institute in which to study radioactivity. In 1978, The Radium Institute combined with the Curie Foundation (dedicated to cancer research) to make the Curie Institute. The Stony Brook group later used lasers to trap and cool Francium atoms The first isotope (Fr-210) was successfully trapped in 1995, also by the Stony Brook group.
Facts There is only on ounce of Francium on the Earth's crust at any given moment. Francium has 7 energy levels, with one electron in the outer level. Francium has a half-life of 3.2 minutes and can be created either by shooting beams of oxygen at a target of gold, or by smashing protons into Thorium.		Radioactivity Francium is in group one of the periodic table, the Alkali Metals, and therefore, is extremely reactive. Francium is the most unstable of the first 101 elements and reacts violently with water. It's similar to other elements in group one, such as Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, and Cesium.
Isotopes There are 33 isotopes of Francium discovered so far. Of these, none are stable. The longest lived isotope lived for approximately 22 minutes. Francium and its isotopes are metallic in color,	Glossary Alkali: An unstable element with one electron in its outer energy level. In order for an alkali to become stable, it must give away its extra electron. Isotopes: Atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Actinium: (Ac) (#89) A dangerously radioactive element. Radioactive: The property possessed by some elements (like uranium) or isotopes (like carbon 14) of spontaneously emitting energetic particles (electrons or alpha particles) by the disintegration of their atomic nuclei. Decay Products: Atoms or nuclear particles that are formed through radioactive decay.
Francium Atom	Bibliography Todd, Robert W, Physical Science, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2001, Austin, TX "Francium" Stony Brook State University of New York, available: here "The Curie Institute, tradition and modernity" available: here Periodic Table of the Elements Web Element Periodic Table Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements Definitions from: Dictionary.com and Yourdictionary.com
March 2002