Radium bromide
 Radium bromide
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IUPAC name
radium bromide
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| Other names
radium bromide
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3D model (Jmol)
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| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.030.066 |
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| Properties | |
| RaBr2 | |
| Molar mass | 385.782 g/mol |
| Appearance | white orthorhombic crystals |
| Density | 5.79 g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 728 °C (1,342 °F; 1,001 K) |
| Boiling point | 900 °C (1,650 °F; 1,170 K) sublimes |
| 70.6 g/100 g at 20°C | |
| Related compounds | |
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Other anions
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Radium chloride |
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Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Radium bromide is the bromide salt of radium, with the formula RaBr2. It is produced during the separation of radium from uranium ore. This inorganic compound was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898, which sparked a huge interest in radiochemistry, especially radiotherapy. Since radium oxidizes rapidly in air and in water, the salt form is the preferred chemical form to work with. Even though the salt form is more stable, radium bromide is still a dangerous chemical that can explode under certain conditions.
After the Curies discovered radium, many people tried to get as much radium as possible to use it for medical purposes. However, it was not long until radium and radium salts were thought of as magical substances and were added to food, drinks, clothing, toys and more. Respectable journals in the early 1900s published statements claiming that radium had no toxic effect.
Scientists were racing against each other trying to be the first to successfully use radium to cure health problems. Radium salts, including radium bromide, were most often used by placing the chemical in a tube that was then passed over or inserted into the problem site or tissue in the body. Many of the first scientists to try to determine radium's uses were affected by their exposure to the radioactive material. Pierre Curie went so far as to self-inflict a severe chemical skin reaction by applying a radium source directly to his forearm. All types of therapeutic tests were performed for different skin diseases including eczema, lichen and psoriasis. It was not thought of until later that radium could be used to treat cancerous diseases.
The main problem with the explosion of interest in radium was the lack of radium on earth itself. In 1913, it was reported that the Radium Institute had four grams of radium total, which at the time was more than half the world. Countries all over the world set out to make as much radium as possible, a time consuming and expensive task. It was reported in Science magazine in 1919 that the United States had produced approximately 55 grams of radium since 1913, which was also more than half the radium produced in the world at the time. A principal source for radium is pitchblende, which holds a total of 257 mg of radium per ton of U3O8. Obviously with so little product recovered from such a large amount of material, it was difficult to find a large quantity of radium. This was the reason radium bromide became one of the most expensive materials on earth. It was desired by many all around the world and there was very little to go around. In 1921, it was stated in Times magazine that radium cost 17,000,000,000 Euros per ton compared to gold at 208,000 Euros and coal, as diamond, at 400,000,000 Euros.
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