Actinide · element 98
Californium
A neutron source you can hold. Expensive.
Only 0.5% of people are Californium. (estimated)
If you're Californium
You give off more energy than anything your size should. Costly, intense, and used only when nothing else will start the reaction.
Californium is one of the strongest neutron sources known, used to start up reactors and find gold and oil underground.
How to get along with Californium
Do
- Use them to start things nothing else can start.
- Respect the cost.
- Point them at gold and oil, not people.
Don't
- Don't waste the neutrons.
- Don't stand in front of the source.
When it goes wrong: They kick off reactions everywhere. Aim first.
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
- 6
- Sociability
- 3
- Stability
- 1
- Energy
- 1
- Rarity
- 10
- Warmth
- 6
Californium in literature
- Brynhild — Völsunga saga, Anonymous (1270)
- Cyrus Smith — The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne (1875)
- Major Barbara — Major Barbara, George Bernard Shaw (1905)
Characters from public-domain works, chosen for the same traits. Company, not a verdict.
Closest personalities
The elements whose profiles sit nearest to Californium's. If you got Californium, one of these was probably your runner-up.
Other actinides
AcActiniumThThoriumPaProtactiniumUUraniumNpNeptuniumPuPlutoniumAmAmericiumCmCuriumBkBerkeliumEsEinsteiniumFmFermiumMdMendeleviumNoNobeliumLrLawrencium