What Is Cesium Used For?

Cesium is a soft, whitish gray metal. The number one way of getting cesium is through pollucite, a rare mineral. They can be found in Maine and North Dakota. American ores of pollucite usually contain 13 percent cesium oxide.

Metal

• Cesium is a type of metal and will melt at a low temperature. Cesium melts around 82 degrees F. Cesium is a lot like Mercury in this case. It is an alkaline metal and therefore reacts explosively to cold water.

Isotopes

• Cesium has 39 isotopes. This is more than most of the other elements. The atomic masses of cesium isotopes ranges from 112 to 151. There is only one isotope that is naturally stable while most of the rest have half-lives. Cesium, with all of its isotopes, is used for fission and nuclear testing.

Function

• Cesium is used in photoelectric cells and other instruments. Cesium has compounds that help to make ceramics and glass. Cesium-137 helps treat many types of cancer such as brachy therapy. Brachy therapy is a type of radiation treatment where sealed sources deliver radiation.

The Body

• Cesium can be brought into the body by eating foods, drinking water or simply breathing. Cesium reacts with the body by distributing equally throughout the body. The number one way cesium is deposited internally is through gastrointestinal absorption.

Health

• Cesium has an effect on health; more bad than good. Cesium-137 has a strong amount of gamma radiation that is associated with it. This creates a hazard for your body. The health concern is from both the gamma radiation and the beta radiation that cesium carries.