A rare radioactive element created in a lab helps detect tiny cracks in jet engines
The lab-created element californium produces a steady stream of neutrons that can see through solid metal, allowing engineers to detect microscopic cracks in jet engines without taking them apart.
Created at UC Berkeley in 1950, californium is an ultra-rare element that does not exist naturally on Earth. Scientists produced the first few atoms by bombarding curium with helium ions in a cyclotron. One specific isotope, Cf-252, has since become an invaluable tool for industrial safety.
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