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 strong neutron emitter, which makes it extremely radioactive and harmful. Californium-252 undergoes alpha decay 96.9% of the time to form curium-248 while the remaining 3.1% of decays are spontaneous fission. One microgram (µg) of californium-252 emits 2.3 million neutrons per second, an average of 3.7 neutrons per spontaneous fission. Most of the other isotopes of californium decay to isotopes of curium (atomic number 96) via alpha decay. Californium was first synthesized at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, by the physics researchers Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street, Jr., Albert Ghiorso, and Glenn T. Seaborg on or about February