Radioactive facts about uranium
Discovery: Uranium was discovered by German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789.
Discovery: Klaproth was studying the mineral pitchblende, when after abnormal chemical reactions.
Name: Klaproth named the new element after the planet Uranus, which had been recently discovered.
Ancient: Uranium has been around for a very long time. Records of its use date back to 79 CE.
Glow: When uranium is used to color glass, it glows in the dark under black light.
Uranium's color: Pure uranium is silver, but it oxidizes quickly when exposed to air.
Pure uranium: It was not until 1841 that French chemist Eugène-Melchior Péligot isolated pure uranium.
Radioactivity: In 1896, French physicist Antoine H. Becquerel found that uranium was radioactive.
Radioactivity: Famed Polish scientist Marie Curie coined the term “radioactivity” following Becquerel's discovery.
Where did it come from: It’s believed that uranium was formed in a supernova about 6.6 billion years ago and made its way to Earth.