| Tecken | Po |
| Atomnummer | 84 |
| Grupp | 16 (Syregruppen) |
| Period | 6 |
| Block | p |
| Ämnesklass | Övrig metall |
| Utseende | Silvery |
| Färg | Silver |
| Antal protoner | 84 p+ |
| Antal neutroner | 125 n0 |
| Antal elektroner | 84 e- |
| Fas vid STP | Fast |
| Densitet | 9.196 g/cm3 |
| Relativ atommassa | 209 u |
| Smältpunkt | 527 K 253.85 °C 488.93 °F |
| Kokpunkt | 1235 K 961.85 °C 1763.33 °F |
| Ångbildningsvärme | 120 kJ/mol |
| Elektronegativitet (Paulingskalan) | 2 |
| Elektronaffinitet | 136 kJ/mol |
| Oxidationstal | −2, +2, +4, +5, +6 (an amphoteric oxide) |
| Jonisationspotential |
|
| Upptäckt | Pierre Curie, Marie Curie (1898) |
| Första isolation | Willy Marckwald (1902) |
| Namngivare | Pierre Curie, Marie Curie |
Upptäckten av polonium Tentatively called "radium F", polonium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in July 1898, when it was extracted from the uranium ore pitchblende and identified solely by its strong radioactivity: it was the first element to be so discovered. It was named after Marie Curie's native land of Poland (Latin: Polonia). Poland at the time was under Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian partition, and did not exist as an independent country. It was Curie's hope that naming the element after her native land would publicize its lack of independence. Polonium may be the first element named to highlight a political controversy. German scientist Willy Marckwald successfully isolated 3 milligrams of polonium in 1902, though at the time he believed it was a new element, which he dubbed "radio-tellurium", and it was not until 1905 that it was demonstrated to be the same as polonium. | |