Americium
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Americium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Am and atomic number 95. It is radioactive and a transuranic member of the actinide series in the periodic table, located under the lanthanide
A small disc of americium-241 metal under a microscope
The 60-inch cyclotron at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, in August 1939
Americium was detected in the fallout from the Ivy Mike nuclear test.
Outside and inside view of an americium-based smoke detector
David Hahn
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David Charles Hahn, sometimes called the "Radioactive Boy Scout" and the "Nuclear Boy Scout", was an American nuclear radiation enthusiast who attempted to build a homemade nuclear reactor at the age
Americium
…from discarded smoke detectors. The rules associated with the disposal of smoke detectors are relaxed in most jurisdictions. In 1994, 17-year-old David Hahn extracted the americium from about 100 smoke detectors in an attempt to build a breeder nuclear reactor. There have been a few cases of exposure to…
David Charles Hahn