Isotopes of californium projectiles, mortar projectiles, rockets, bombs, land mines, and improvised explosive devices (IED). In the oil industry, Cf-252 neutron sources are used to find layers of petroleum and water in a well. Instrumentation is lowered into the well which bombards the formation with high energy neutrons to determine porosity, permeability, and hydrocarbon presence along the length of the borehole. Californium-252 has also been used in the treatment of serious forms of cancer. In patients suffering from certain types of brain and cervical cancer, Cf-252 can be used as a more cost-effective substitute for radium. Isotopes of californium Californium (Cf) is an
Californium of use, reactor start-up (48.3%), fuel rod scanning (25.3%), and activation analysis (19.4%). By 1994 most californium-252 was used in neutron radiography (77.4%), with fuel rod scanning (12.1%) and reactor start-up (6.9%) as important but distant secondary uses. Californium-251 has a very small calculated critical mass of about , high lethality, and a relatively short period of toxic environmental irradiation. The low critical mass of californium led to some exaggerated claims about possible uses for the element. In October 2006, researchers announced that three atoms of oganesson (element 118) had been identified at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in