Actinide · element 95
Americium
In every smoke detector. Named after a continent.
Only 0.8% of people are Americium. (estimated)
If you're Americium
You are on the ceiling of every home, watching quietly, and almost nobody knows your name. Vigilant, useful, unglamorous.
Americium sits inside nearly every household smoke detector, ionising the air to catch smoke.
How to get along with Americium
Do
- Value the watching; it's protective.
- Let them stay on the ceiling and out of the drama.
- Test the alarm now and then.
Don't
- Don't ignore the beeping.
- Don't remove the battery.
When it goes wrong: They go off when there's smoke. Check for fire before blaming the detector.
Atomic profile
Every element is placed on six personality dimensions derived from its chemistry. Your answers are placed on the same six, and the closest element wins. How the scoring works
- Reactivity
- 7
- Sociability
- 5
- Stability
- 1
- Energy
- 1
- Rarity
- 9
- Warmth
- 5
Americium in literature
- Sergeant Cuff — The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins (1868)
- Mrs. Hudson — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)
- Montmorency — Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome (1889)
Characters from public-domain works, chosen for the same traits. Company, not a verdict.
Closest personalities
The elements whose profiles sit nearest to Americium's. If you got Americium, one of these was probably your runner-up.
Other actinides
AcActiniumThThoriumPaProtactiniumUUraniumNpNeptuniumPuPlutoniumCmCuriumBkBerkeliumCfCaliforniumEsEinsteiniumFmFermiumMdMendeleviumNoNobeliumLrLawrencium