If you do a quick Google search for the most expensive element in the world, one of the results will be californium-252 stone.
According to Hamza Al-Mustapha, a former Nigerian Army major and intelligence officer who served as General Sani Abacha’s Chief Security Officer, in an interview with the Brekete family, he said a California 252 stone was discovered in Borno state and is worth $27 million per gram.
In his other remarks in the viral video, he said that the element was the cause of insecurity and Boko Haram in Borno and other resource-rich northern territories.
The 62-year-old Major, while speaking, said Nigerians should visit Google and search for the price of californium-252 stone.
This article will discuss what californium-252 stone is, what it is used for, where it is discovered, how much it costs per gram, and whether californium stone is actually found in Borno, Nigeria.
Califolium stone is discovered in Borno state and it's worth 27 million, one thousand per gram – Mustafa
Now we understand why there is insecurity & Boko Haram in Borno and other northern areas with rich resources.
Let's get back our country by voting @PeterObi@OselokaHObaze pic.twitter.com/GHm78eLmxn
— Nigeria Diasporas in Europe🇪🇺 (@Nig_Diasporas) December 10, 2022
WHAT IS CALIFORNIUM-252 STONE?
Californianium, which has the chemical symbol Cf and atomic number 98, is defined on Wikipedia as a radioactive chemical element. At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which was then known as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, the element was initially created in 1950 by putting curium to an alpha particle bombardment (helium-4 ions).
It is an actinide element, the sixth transuranium element to be created through synthesis, and it has the second-highest atomic mass of all elements that have been created in quantities that are big enough to be seen with the unaided eye (after einsteinium). The institution and the American state of California were used as inspiration for the element’s names.
CALIFORNIUM-252 EXPLANATION
Californium-252 (Cf-252) is a radioactive isotope of the element californium. It has 52 protons and 52 neutrons in its nucleus. Cf-252 is produced by bombarding curium-248 with alpha particles, and has a half-life of about 2.6 years. It decays by emitting alpha particles and has a specific activity of about 3.7 Curie/gram.
Cf-252 is a rare and expensive isotope, and is used in a variety of applications, including nuclear medicine, neutron activation analysis, and as a source of neutrons for research and industry. It is also used in portable neutron sources for oil well logging and other field applications.
Cf-252 is hazardous to handle due to its radioactivity, and strict safety measures must be taken to protect workers and the environment when working with this isotope.
WHERE IS CALIFORNIUM 252 FOUND?
Californium-252 is not found naturally in the environment. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors or particle accelerators. It is a rare and expensive isotope, and is not produced in large quantities.
Californium-252 can be found in research facilities and laboratories that use it for various purposes, such as nuclear medicine, neutron activation analysis, and as a source of neutrons for research and industry. It can also be found in portable neutron sources used for oil well logging and other field applications.
Californium-252 is not found in consumer products or widely available for commercial use. It is a hazardous substance due to its radioactivity, and strict safety measures must be taken when handling or working with this isotope.
HOW MUCH IS CALIFORNIUM 252 COST PER GRAM?
Californium-252 (Cf-252) is an extremely rare and radioactive isotope of californium. It is not traded on any market, and it is not possible to purchase californium-252 on the open market. Californium-252 is produced in very small quantities for use in specialized scientific and medical research. It is extremely expensive, with the cost per gram ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
MandyNews also learned from some websites that californium-252 can cost $27 million per gram, making it far more expensive than lutetium but less expensive than francium.
- Californianium is reportedly utilized in microgram amounts, according to Andrew Tinker on Quora.
- It would be incomparably valuable if you possessed something big enough to be called a “stone.”
- Additionally, the substance is very radioactive, so if the stone is bigger than a fraction of a gram, terrible things will happen.
- A 50 ton lead storage cask that can survive radioactivity of up to a gram is depicted in a lovely way on Wikipedia.
- The hypothetical one gram cube would be around four millimeters on a side with a density of about 15 grams per cubic centimeter (supposedly, world production is closer to 1/2 gram a year).
- That will be difficult to classify as a stone; it is more akin to a pebble or a grain of grainy sand.
DOES NIGERIA HAVE CALIFORNIUM 252?
It is not uncommon for countries to have small quantities of californium, as it is a rare and expensive element that is produced in very small quantities. However, MandyNews.com is also here to tell that Nigeria doesn’t have any californium. Californium is a radioactive metal that is produced through the irradiation of curium, and it has a number of important uses, including in the production of medical isotopes and in the oil and gas industry. It is also used in scientific research, as it has a number of unique properties that make it valuable for studying the behavior of other materials.
DOES NIGERIA’S BORNO HAVE CALIFORNIUM?
Wikipedia states that only two locations produce Californium-252: the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors in Dimitrovgrad, Russia, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States.
Californianium is a transuranic element that was created artificially and is not found naturally, according to the well-known website report on Nature. It has twenty known isotopes and is a late actinide. In an experiment that employed a 60-inch cyclotron to blast targets made of curium-242 with helium ions, Glenn Seaborg and colleagues made the first official identification of it in February 1950.
See Also : 3,700 Years Old – Scientists Discover the First Sentence Ever Written in Canaanite
IS CALIFORNIA-252 THE CAUSE OF BOKO HARAM IN NIGERIA?
Californium-252 is a synthetic radioactive isotope that is used in a variety of applications, including industrial and scientific research, but it is not related to the Boko Haram terrorist group or its activities in Nigeria. Boko Haram is a militant extremist organization that has been active in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa since the early 2000s. It is known for carrying out bombings, kidnappings, and other acts of violence in an effort to establish an Islamic state in the region. The group’s goals and tactics have nothing to do with Californium-252 or any other scientific or industrial material.
CONCLUSION
That is to say, there isn’t anything like to Californium in Borno State because it has never been discovered naturally and is only produced in little amounts each year—a few grams. In particular for petroleum exploration and gold and silver prospecting, Californium is employed in portable neutron emitters as well as in diagnostic and prospecting equipment. Cancer can also be treated with it.
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