Among the rare materials that stir up lust on the markets, a little -known metal broke all records with a course higher than gold. But its characteristics destine it for very special use.
Of all the elements that make up nature and that are in our environment, the metals are undoubtedly those which most affect the lusts and panic the imagination. It must be said that their potential and their usefulness have never denied themselves through history: make a plow to plow the fields, forge a hammer to plant nails (or to type on the neighbor’s head and seize his territory), or sculpt a crown to assert the power of the sovereign, their uses have no limits.
Closer to us, metals are absolutely essential elements for the manufacture and functioning of our devices and modern infrastructures. Whether in vehicles, buildings, electricity distribution networks, and of course the multitude of electronic devices that make our lives easier, metals are everywhere. They are so precious that they constitute, with real estate, one of the safest values to invest their money in times of crisis.
Some are well known, such as copper, silver or gold, by their millennial use in multiple areas, including jewelry or industry. Others, such as germanium, gallium or lithium, gain notoriety and popularity with the development of semiconductors and batteries. They even became a crucial geopolitical issue in triumphant digital time, with prices that can reach vertices. But another metal, much less known, however all all over -flat in the matter, worth 400 times more than gold.
This metal is Californium, a “transuranian” chemical element. It is called thus because it is after uranium in the periodic table of the elements, precisely six boxes further, with the atomic number 98. And like all the elements heavier than uranium, atomic number 92 for its part , it is unstable and breaks down so quickly that it is not found in its natural state. It is therefore an “artificial” element, synthesized for the first time in 1950 at the University of Berkeley, California.
In addition to being very rare, Californium is particularly dangerous because it is extremely radioactive. But it is precisely this intense radioactivity which gives it its particular properties and makes it essential in several cutting -edge industries and areas. For example, it is used as a primer in the fission process which allows nuclear power plants to operate, or as therapeutic weapon to precisely target malignant cells in certain very aggressive cancers.
Maus as useful as it is, Californium is an incredibly difficult element to obtain. Its synthesis process is so long and complex, that its production cost amounts to $ 27 million per gram. Enough to make his venerable cousin pale gold (about 90 dollars per gram), and arouse some lusts. But do not expect to become an annuitant by investing in Californium: because of its potential applications as a nuclear army, its production and marketing are strictly supervised, and it is simply impossible for an individual to buy it.