The key difference between curium 242 and curium 244 is that curium 242 has 146 neutrons in its atomic nucleus whereas curium 244 has 148 neutrons in its atomic nucleus.
Curium is a chemical element having the atomic number 96 and chemical symbol Cm. It has a number of isotopes, which have the same atomic number but different mass numbers. Curium 242 and curium 244 are two such isotopes of the chemical element curium.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Curium 242
3. What is Curium 244
4. Side by Side Comparison – Curium 242 vs Curium 244 in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Curium 242?
Curium 242 is an isotope of the chemical element curium. It has atomic number 96 and mass number 242. That means, there are 96 protons in the atomic nucleus of the curium atom along with 146 neutrons. The atomic mass of curium 242 is approximately 242.0588 amu. The chemical symbol for this isotope is 242Cm. It is a highly radioactive chemical element having a half-life around 162 days. However, this isotope is a synthetic radioisotope which cannot be found in nature. Usually, the decay of this chemical element occurs via alpha decay. It produces Plutonium-238 upon alpha decay.
Figure 01: Curium
The curium 242 was the very first isotope among all the isotopes of the curium to be produced in a laboratory (in 1944). It was produced by bombarding plutonium-238 with alpha particles, which is the opposite process of the alpha decay of this isotope. Later, the 240-curium isotope was produced in the same way using helium-4 instead of alpha particles. Apart from the alpha decay of curium 242, we can observe its spontaneous fission as well.
What is Curium 244?
Curium 244 is an isotope of curium chemical element that has atomic number 96 and mass number 244. That means, there are 96 protons along with 148 neutrons in the atomic nucleus of the curium 244 atom. We can denote the curium 244 isotope as 244cm. The atomic mass of this isotope is 244.0627 amu. Moreover, this isotope occurs as a radioactive element. Therefore, we can call it as a radioisotope. The half-life of this isotope is approximately about 18 years, which is a very high value compared to a 242 curium radioisotope. Usually, it tends to undergo radioactive decay to form plutonium-240. Here, we can observe the alpha decay of curium 244. Furthermore, this is also a synthetic radioisotope and it can undergo spontaneous fission as well.
What is the Difference Between Curium 242 and Curium 244?
Curium is a chemical element having the atomic number 96 and chemical symbol Cm. Curium 242 and curium 244 are two of the many radioactive isotopes of curium chemical element. The key difference between curium 242 and curium 244 is that curium 242 has 146 neutrons in its atomic nucleus whereas curium 244 has 148 neutrons in its atomic nucleus.
Moreover, the half-life of curium 242 is much lower compared to curium 244. In fact, the half-life of curium 242 is about 16 days while the half-life of curium 244 is about 18 years.
Below infographic summarizes the difference between curium 242 and curium 244.
Summary – Curium 242 vs Curium 244
Curium is a chemical element having atomic number 96 and chemical symbol Cm. curium 242 and curium 244 are two of the many radioactive isotopes of curium chemical element. The key difference between curium 242 and curium 244 is that curium 242 has 146 neutrons in its atomic nucleus whereas curium 244 has 148 neutrons in its atomic nucleus.
Reference:
1. “Isotopes of Curium.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Electron shell 096 curium” (CC BY-SA 2.0 uk) via Commons Wikimedia