Francium is a natural chemical element but the total quantity of francium in the earth crust is only approx. 30 g. Francium has ca. 40 isotopes and isomers but only two are natural: 221Fr (in the neptunium decay chain series) and 223Fr (in the actinium decay chain series). Artificially preparation of francium isotopes is also extremely difficult and expensive; and the chemistry and physics of isotopes was developed essentially after 1940. Supplementary, the most stable isotope of francium has a half life of only 21,8 minutes and is strongly radioactive; the half lives of the artificially prepared isotopes are more smaller.
This is sufficient reason to explain why francium was later discovered and why even today is only slightly studied.
The total amount of the francium in the Earth crust is approx. 30 grams.
The total amount of the francium in the Earth crust is approx. 30 grams.
The total amount of the francium in the Earth crust is approx. 30 grams.
Francium is the second rarest element on earth so that's probably why it took a little longer to discover.
The total amount of the francium in the Earth crust is approx. 30 grams.
Francium is named after France, which is where the element was isolated in 1939 by Marguerite Perey. Traces of francium occur naturally in uranium-containing minerals. francium is very rare so it took time to find it (i think)
The total amount of the francium in the Earth crust is approx. 30 grams.
Francium exist only in infinitesimal traces in thorium and uranium ores and is very unstable. (Read about its discovery history in wikipedia link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francium#History
Back then they did not know what radioactivity was There wasn't the right equipment to discover it at the time It comes from Uranium, which doesn't last for that long...it has a half life of 21 minutes Very rare, 30g in the world at one time
It is highly unstable. The MOST stable isotope of this stuff has a half life of 22 minutes.
Element 87 (Francium) was discovered in 1939 by the French scientist Marguerite Perey. The pure element is hard to isolate, as it has a radioactive half-life of about 21 minutes. It is also one of the rarest elements: there is probably less than a hundred grams of it on Earth!
Please see this article for more details.