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Scientists uncover fundamental property of astatine — rarest naturally occurring element on Earth

May 17, 2013 – 8:00 am
  • Scientists uncover fundamental property of astatine -- rarest naturally occurring element on Earth - Scientists have carried out ground-breaking experiments to investigate the atomic structure of astatine (atomic number 85), the rarest naturally occurring element on Earth. Through experiments conducted at the radioactive isotope facility ISOLDE at CERN, scientists have accessed, for the first time, the ionization potential of the astatine atom. The successful measurement fills a long-standing gap in Mendeleev's periodic table, since astatine was the last element present in nature for which this fundamental property was unknown.(10.1038/ncomms2819)

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