Radium chemicals and cause radioluminescence. Radium, in the form of radium chloride, was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. They extracted the radium compound from uraninite and published the discovery at the French Academy of Sciences five days later. Radium was isolated in its metallic state by Marie Curie and André-Louis Debierne through the electrolysis of radium chloride in 1911. In nature, radium is found in uranium and (to a lesser extent) thorium ores in trace amounts as small as a seventh of a gram per ton of uraninite. Radium is not necessary for living organisms, and adverse health
Radium bromide concentrate the radium as a combination of radium and barium. This is done by treating the ore with a barium salt and sulfuric acid which help the uranium, iron, copper, and other components become soluble. A residue containing gangue, barium, radium, and lead sulfates will be left over. The mixture will then be treated with sodium chloride to remove lead and convert radium and barium into carbonates that are insoluble in hydrochloric acid. The second step requires fractional crystallization to separate the barium from the radium. Because of the differences in solubility between radium and barium in bromide or chlorine,