From Arsenic to Zirconium

PROMETHIUM, Pm

THE PACEMAKER’S POWER PACK

Short-lived ’n’ scarce in pitchblende ore, just 1 pg per ton,

Then Oak Ridge raked its fissile core and out popped 61!

This lanthanoid’s unstable so,

Its “beta bits” help’d paint to glow . . .

. . . they also help to “set the pace” for hearts to smoothly run.

 pee-jee

Short-lived ’n’ scarce in pitchblende ore, just 1 pg per ton,

FIFTH IN THE LANTHANOID SERIES

Promethium is the only radioactive element within the lanthanoid family of rare-earth metals in row 6 of the periodic table (see “Scandium, Sc” on page 60 for information on the rare earths). It occurs naturally—although very scarcely!—as a decay ...