AstatineIn 1931, Fredrick Allison, working in Alabama, reported (erroneously) the discovery of “alabamine,” element 85, now known as astatine, the heaviest halogen. Astatine was first synthesized and correctly identified in 1940 by bombarding bismuth with alpha particles (Corson, MacKenzie, and Segré). All astatine isotopes are highly radioactive and very short lived. Thus the amount of astatine in nature is too small for Allison to have detected, using his own "Magneto-Optic Method of Chemical Analysis," (also debunked.) In the 1920's and 30's, scientists were eager to find the elements 85 and 87, as predicted by Mendeleev. Allison's reported discovery was premature because of poor experimental design and experimenter bias. |
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