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Polonium

Element 84 · Post-transition metal

Specimen

Atomic number
84
Atomic mass
[209]
State at room temperature
Solid
Melting point
253.9 °C
Boiling point
961.9 °C
Density
9.32 g/cm³
Discovered
1898

Mass number of the longest-lived isotope, from IUPAC.1 Other physical data from PubChem.2

Can I eat it?

In food and water
Radioactive. All polonium is radioactive. The body does not use it. Its radiation makes it highly toxic. 3

See every element.

The atom

Po
ShellElectrons
1 (K) 2
2 (L) 8
3 (M) 18
4 (N) 32
5 (O) 18
6 (P) outermost 6
Total84

Configuration [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s² 6p⁴

4f ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓
5d ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓ ↑ ↓
6s ↑ ↓
6p ↑ ↓ ↑ ↑
A shell diagram: each ring is an electron shell and each dot is one electron. The nucleus holds 84 protons. The outermost shell is shown in red. Electrons do not travel on rings: they fill orbitals, regions where an electron is likely to be found. The boxes are those orbitals for the electrons outside the Xe core, with one arrow per electron.

Related elements

Group 16
O Oxygen S Sulfur Se Selenium Te Tellurium Lv Livermorium

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Sources

  1. 1

    IUPAC Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW), 2024. Radioactive Elements .

    Mass number and half-life of the longest-lived isotope of the 34 elements with no standard atomic weight.

  2. 2

    National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubChem), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements .

    Electron configuration, melting and boiling points, density and discovery year for all 118 elements.

  3. 3

    Royal Society of Chemistry, Periodic Table, 2026. Polonium - Element information, properties and uses .

    Reference page; its Biological role and Natural abundance sections are quoted.

    • Polonium has no known biological role. It is highly toxic due to its radioactivity.