polonium
/pəˈləʊnɪəm
/noun [mass noun]
The chemical element of atomic number 84, a radioactive metal occurring in nature only as a product of radioactive decay of uranium. (Symbol: Po) In the process, she discovered two new elements that are millions and billions of times more radioactive than uranium: radium and polonium....
- Gentry had discovered that granites contain microscopic coloration halos produced by the radioactive decay of primordial polonium.
- Radon can enter the body through the lungs, where it undergoes alpha decay to form polonium, a radioactive solid that remains in the lungs and continues to emit cancer-causing radiation.
Origin
Late 19th century: modern Latin, from medieval Latin Polonia 'Poland' (the native country of Marie Curie, the element's co-discoverer).