Polonium
Polonium is a radioactive element with no stable isotopes, occurring in trace amounts in decay chains.
Polonium highlights the energy released by radioactive decay.
Explore Polonium's atom- Atomic number
- 84
- Source isotope mass
- 208.98243 u
- Family
- Post-transition
- Period
- 6
- Group
- 16
- Standard state
- Solid
In everyday life
Polonium is used in specialised research and some controlled industrial sources.
Something to remember
Polonium was named after Poland, Marie Curie's homeland.
Meet its electrons
[Xe] 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p4
Published neutral-atom ground-state configuration; excited atoms and ions can differ.
Electrons per shell: 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 18 · 6.
The playground shows an illustrative shell model. Real electrons are described by quantum orbitals, rather than tiny planets traveling along fixed paths.
A connection to explore
Polonium and radium were both identified through the Curies' investigations of radioactivity.
Meet Radium (Ra)Properties and conditions
- Source isotope mass
- 208.98243 uPubChem value for an element without stable isotopes. This is not a standard atomic weight and may be rounded to an isotope mass number; uncertainty is not supplied. CIAAW assigns no standard atomic weight to this element. The PubChem isotope is not necessarily the longest-lived isotope.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Standard state
- SolidPubChem classification, including explicit predictions where stated. Reference temperature and pressure are not supplied in the table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- First ionisation energy
- 8.417 eVEnergy to remove the first electron from an isolated neutral gas-phase atom. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electronegativity
- 2 Pauling scaleA dimensionless relative measure; values depend on the chosen scale. Uncertainty is not supplied.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Melting point
- 527 KPubChem reported value. Pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Boiling point
- 1235 KPubChem reported value. Pressure and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; consult the cited source.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Density
- 9.32 g/cm³PubChem reported value. Temperature, pressure, allotrope and measurement uncertainty are not specified in the table; gas densities are especially condition-dependent.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Oxidation states
- +4, +2Selected PubChem oxidation states; formal electron bookkeeping, not a list of stable free-ion charges or every possible compound.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Discovery
- 1898PubChem discovery attribution. Ancient knowledge and competing priority claims cannot always be represented by a single year.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Atomic radius
- 197 pmPubChem tabulated radius. Radius definitions depend on bonding and convention; measurement definition and uncertainty are not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
- Electron affinity
- 1.9 eVPubChem reported gas-phase electron affinity. Sign conventions and electronic states matter; uncertainty is not supplied in this table.PubChem periodic table ↗ · Retrieved 2026-10-15
Isotopes, abundance and decay
Isotopes share a proton count but have different neutron counts. This selection includes naturally tabulated compositions and a reference isotope for other elements. It is not a list of every known isotope.
Explore 1 isotope of Po
| Isotope | Relative atomic mass | Natural fraction | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Po-209Reference isotope | 208.9824308(20) | Not tabulated | 124 y (uncertainty 3) | α=99.546 7;β+=0.454 7 |
Fractions use NIST’s terrestrial isotopic compositions, which can vary by sample. Parentheses denote uncertainty in the last digits. Half-lives and decay branches use NUBASE2020; # marks estimates, >/< mark limits. “No decay observed” follows that evaluation and does not prove permanent stability. Decay branch intensities are percentages; SF means spontaneous fission, EC electron capture, IT an isomeric transition.
Follow the science
Use these original references to explore the data and context. Atomic weights can vary with isotope composition; values for elements without stable isotopes may describe a representative isotope rather than a standard atomic weight.