This element was discovered by G. Seaborg, R. James and A. Ghiorso in 1944 in Berkeley, California. Its name alludes to Pierre and Marie Curie.
Ionization energy
CmI 6.0 eV.
Absorption lines of CmI
Cm I was identified on the basis of eight lines present in one Ap
star of the Cr-Eu-Sr subgroup Jaschek and Brandi 1972). Later work,
however, did not confirm this identification.
Isotopes
Cm is unstable. The two longest lived isotopes (there exist in total 13)
are Cm247 and Cm248, with half lives of
1.6 × 107 and
4.7 × 105 years respectively. Cm247 could be
used for radioactive dating.
Origin
Cm is produced by the r process.
Published in "The Behavior of Chemical Elements in Stars", Carlos Jaschek and Mercedes Jaschek, 1995, Cambridge University Press.