{"id":548,"date":"2012-05-30T10:18:56","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T10:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/?page_id=548"},"modified":"2017-12-07T02:07:55","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T07:07:55","slug":"francium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/francium.html","title":{"rendered":"Francium Element Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"insidepagelinks\">\n<a href=\"#data\">Data Zone<\/a> |  <a href=\"#discovery\">Discovery<\/a> |  <a href=\"#facts\">Facts<\/a> | <a href=\"#appear\">Appearance &amp; Characteristics<\/a> | <a href=\"#uses\">Uses<\/a> | <a href=\"#abund\">Abundance &amp; Isotopes<\/a>  | <a href=\"#refer\">References<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"alkaliT\">\n<div class=\"atnorT\">87<\/div>\n<div class=\"clearT\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"elnamT\">Fr<\/div>\n<div class=\"atweiT\"> (223)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The chemical element francium is classed as an alkali metal. It was discovered in 1939 by Marguerite Perey.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"adsense300\">\n<div class=\"adsense300spacer\">\n<div style=\"line-height:10px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/www.chemicool.com\/ad.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9461632227417539\" data-ad-slot=\"8753977201\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a id=\"data\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Data Zone<\/h2>\n<table class=\"datatop\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Classification:<\/td>\n<td>  Francium is an alkali metal   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Color:<\/td>\n<td> silver-gray-metallic (presumed)  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic weight:<\/td>\n<td>   (223), no stable isotopes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">State:<\/td>\n<td>   solid   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Melting point:<\/td>\n<td> 27 <sup>o<\/sup>C , 300 K    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Boiling point:<\/td>\n<td> 677  <sup>o<\/sup>C, 950  K      <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electrons:<\/td>\n<td>87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Protons:<\/td>\n<td>87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Neutrons in most abundant isotope:<\/td>\n<td>136<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electron shells:<\/td>\n<td>  2,8,18,32,18,8,1    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electron configuration:<\/td>\n<td>   [Rn] 7s<sup>1<\/sup>    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Density @ 20<sup>o<\/sup>C:<\/td>\n<td>  1.873 g\/cm<sup>3<\/sup>   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<span class=\"collapseomatic \" id=\"id6a6411ce463d5\"  tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Show more, including: Heats, Energies, Oxidation,&lt;br \/&gt; Reactions, Compounds, Radii, Conductivities\"    >Show more, including: Heats, Energies, Oxidation,<br \/> Reactions, Compounds, Radii, Conductivities<\/span><div id=\"target-id6a6411ce463d5\" class=\"collapseomatic_content \">\n<table class=\"datatop\">\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic volume:<\/td>\n<td>  71.07 cm<sup>3<\/sup>\/mol   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Structure:<\/td>\n<td>  believed to be bcc: body-centered cubic  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Hardness: <\/td>\n<td> &#8211;    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Specific heat capacity<\/td>\n<td>  &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of fusion<\/td>\n<td>  2 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of atomization<\/td>\n<td> 73 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Heat of vaporization<\/td>\n<td>   64   kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">1<sup>st<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>  384 kJ mol<sup>-1<\/sup>    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">2<sup>nd<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>  &#8211;    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">3<sup>rd<\/sup> ionization energy<\/td>\n<td>  &#8211;   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Electron affinity<\/td>\n<td>  &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Minimum oxidation number<\/td>\n<td>  0    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Min. common oxidation no.<\/td>\n<td>  0  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Maximum oxidation number <\/td>\n<td> 1 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Max. common oxidation no. <\/td>\n<td>  1  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) <\/td>\n<td>   0.7   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Polarizability volume <\/td>\n<td>   48.7  &Aring;<sup>3<\/sup>  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with air<\/td>\n<td> &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 15 M HNO<sub>3<\/sub> <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 6 M HCl <\/td>\n<td>  vigorous, &#8658;  H<sub>2<\/sub>, FrCl   <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Reaction with 6 M NaOH <\/td>\n<td>  vigorous, &#8658;  H<sub>2<\/sub>, FrOH  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Oxide(s) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Hydride(s) <\/td>\n<td>  &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Chloride(s) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Atomic radius <\/td>\n<td>  &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (1+ ion) <\/td>\n<td> 194  pm <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (2+ ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Ionic radius (3+ ion) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (1- ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (2- ion) <\/td>\n<td> &#8211; <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Ionic radius (3- ion) <\/td>\n<td>   &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Thermal conductivity <\/td>\n<td> 3.61 W m<sup>-1<\/sup> K<sup>-1<\/sup> <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\"> Electrical conductivity <\/td>\n<td>  &#8211;  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"elemglb\">Freezing\/Melting point:<\/td>\n<td> 27 <sup>o<\/sup>C , 300 K    <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"leftimagepadding\">\n<div style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chemicool.com\/elements\/images\/300-uranite.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" alt=\"Francium\" class=\"size-full\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">This uranium ore sample contains about 100&#8201;000 atoms of francium-223 (3.3 x 10 <sup>-20<\/sup> g). Francium is radioactive; less than 30g of it exists on Earth at any given time. Image Ref. <sup>(1)<\/sup><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"discovery\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Discovery of Francium<\/h2>\n<div class=\"author\">Dr. Doug Stewart<\/div>\n<p> Francium was discovered by Marguerite Perey in 1939 when she was researching the radioactive decay of <a href=\"actinium.html\">actinium-227<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\tThe discovery took place at the Curie Institute in Paris. The element takes its name from the country of its discovery &#8211; France.<\/p>\n<p>\tThe discovery began, in 1935, when Perey aged 26, read a research paper claiming that American scientists had discovered beta particles being emitted by actinium which had a higher amount of energy than normal.<\/p>\n<p>Perey was curious about this finding, and already being an expert on actinium related work, she decided to carry out her own experiments on actinium. She produced an ultra-pure actinium sample and studied its radiation. Perey discovered that about 1% of actiniums radioactivity was caused by it emitting alpha particles, not beta particles.<\/p>\n<p>Perey had discovered that actinium-227 could decay by emitting a helium nucleus (also called an alpha particle) from its own nucleus. The daughter nucleus formed was a previously undiscovered element which she chose to call francium to honor her home country, France.<\/p>\n<p><sup>227<\/sup>Ac  &#8594; <sup>223<\/sup>Fr + <sup>4<\/sup>He<\/p>\n<p>With 87 protons the new element belonged in Group 1 of the periodic table, joining the other five alkali metals: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery of francium completed humankind&#8217;s discoveries of naturally occurring elements.<\/p>\n<p>All elements discovered since then have been discovered when the element has been produced in the laboratory.<\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both; line-height: 20px;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div class=\"adsense300\">\n<div class=\"adsense300spacer\">\n<div style=\"line-height: 10px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/www.chemicool.com\/ad.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 336px; height: 280px;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9461632227417539\" data-ad-slot=\"2986645201\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftimagepadding\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6ZY6d6jrq-0?rel=0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"youtubecaption\">Alkali metals &#8211; properties and reactions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/images\/300-beta-decay.gif\" width=\"300\" height=\"204\" alt=\"Beta Decay\" class=\"size-full\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A nucleus emits a beta-particle (an electron) and an antineutrino. The result of this is that a neutron in the nucleus turns into a proton. When element 87 in the periodic table (francium) does this, the extra proton means that it becomes element 88 (radium).<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"appear\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Appearance and Characteristics<\/h3>\n<p>\t  <strong>Harmful effects:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>\t \tFrancium is highly radioactive.<\/p>\n<p>\t  <strong>Characteristics:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\t\tFrancium is a heavy, unstable, radioactive metal with a maximum half-life of only 22 minutes. It has a low melting point (27 <sup>o<\/sup>C, 81 <sup>o<\/sup>F) and, if enough of it could be accumulated, it would be liquid in a warm room.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tFrancium is the second rarest element in the Earth&#8217;s crust, next to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/astatine.html\">astatine<\/a>. Less than thirty grams of francium exists on Earth at any given time.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tFrancium is the least electronegative of all the elements, therefore it should be the most chemically reactive alkali metal. Unfortunately, it is not available in sufficient quantities to show it reacting with water &#8211; it is made in tiny quantities in particle accelerators. In theory, its reaction with water would be more violent than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/cesium.html\">cesium&#8217;s<\/a> and very much more violent than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/sodium.html\">sodium&#8217;s<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tFrancium has been studied most recently at <a href=\"http:\/\/insti.physics.sunysb.edu\/itp\/\">Stony Brook University<\/a>, New York. Scientists there trapped up to ten thousand francium atoms at a time using laser beams in a magnetic field in order to measure their properties. <\/p>\n<p><a id=\"uses\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Uses of Francium<\/h2>\n<p>\t\tCommercially, there are no uses for francium, due to its rarity and instability. It is used for research purposes only.<\/p>\n<h2>Francium Decay<\/h2>\n<p>\t\t\tFrancium&#8217;s isotopes, with mass numbers ranging from 200 to 232, most commonly undergo alpha- or beta-decay.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tHere are just a few examples of francium&#8217;s decay paths:<\/p>\n<p>      Francium-223 is the element&#8217;s longest lived isotope. It has a half-life of 22 minutes.  It can emit an alpha-particle (a helium nucleus) to form astatine-219 or a beta-particle to form radium-223. (A beta-particle is an electron which is emitted from a nucleus when a neutron converts to a proton.) <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tFrancium-221 has a half-life of 5 minutes. It can emit an alpha-particle to form astatine-217 or a beta-particle to become radium-221.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tFrancium-216 has a half-life of 0.7 microseconds. It can emit an alpha-particle to form astatine-212 or a positron to form radon-216.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\tFrancium-212 has a half-life of 19 minutes. It can emit an alpha-particle to form astatine-208 or capture an orbital electron to form radon-212. <sup>(2)<\/sup> (During orbital electron capture, the nucleus captures one of the atom&#8217;s own electrons and emits a neutrino.)\t\t<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"abund\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Abundance and Isotopes<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"elemgl\">Abundance earth&#8217;s crust:<\/span>  ~ 0  parts per million, ~ 0  parts per million<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Abundance solar system:<\/span> ~ 0  parts per billion by weight, ~ 0  parts per billion by moles<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Cost, pure:<\/span>  $ per 100g<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Cost, bulk:<\/span>  $ per 100g<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Source:<\/span> Francium occurs naturally as a result of the alpha radioactive decay of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/actinium.html\">actinium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"elemgl\">Isotopes:<\/span>  Francium has 33 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 200 to 232. None are stable. <sup>223<\/sup>Fr has the longest half-life at 21.8 minutes. <\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width: 750px;\">\n<div style=\"line-height: 10px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/\/www.chemicool.com\/ad.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-9461632227417539\" data-ad-slot=\"8753977201\" data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a id=\"refer\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li>Photo by <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/User:Kgrr\">Konrad Roeder<\/a><\/li>\n<li>E.K. Hyde, a. Ghiorso, G.T. Seaborg, Physical Review., 1950, 77, p765, Issue 6.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4>Cite this Page<\/h4>\n<p>For online linking, please copy and paste one of the following:<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n&lt;a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/francium.html\"&gt;Francium&lt;\/a&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<p>or<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n&lt;a href=\"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/francium.html\"&gt;Francium Element Facts&lt;\/a&gt;\r\n<\/pre>\n<p>To cite this page in an academic document, please use the following MLA compliant citation:<\/p>\n<pre class='code'>\r\n\"Francium.\" Chemicool Periodic Table. Chemicool.com. 11 Jan. 2015. Web. <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n<!--\r\nvar currentTime = new Date()\r\nvar month = currentTime.getMonth() + 1\r\nvar day = currentTime.getDate()\r\nvar year = currentTime.getFullYear()\r\ndocument.write(month + \"\/\" + day + \"\/\" + year)\r\n\/\/-->\r\n<\/script> \r\n&lt;https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/francium.html&gt;.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Data Zone | Discovery | Facts | Appearance &amp; Characteristics | Uses | Abundance &amp; Isotopes | References 87 Fr (223) The chemical element francium is classed as an alkali metal. It was discovered in 1939 by Marguerite Perey. Data Zone Classification: Francium is an alkali metal Color: silver-gray-metallic (presumed) Atomic weight: (223), no stable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3702,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-548","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4238,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/548\/revisions\/4238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chemicool.com\/elements\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}