Properties of Radium (Ra)

Radium is a chemical element with the symbol (Ra) and atomic number 88. It is a highly radioactive metal and is part of the alkaline earth metal group. Radium was discovered by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie in 1898. It is formed as a decay product of uranium and thorium in the Earth’s crust.

The following table provides a comprehensive list of radium (Ra) properties in both SI and US customary/Imperial units at normal temperature and pressure (NTP).

Click on the icon to switch between Metric and Imperial units.

Table of Radium Properties
Physical Properties
Metric
Crystal StructureBody-centered cubic (bcc)
Atomic Number88
Molar Mass226 g/mol
Density5000 kg/m3
Mechanical PropertiesMetric
Young’s Modulus (E)13.2 GPa
Thermal PropertiesMetric
Melting Point700 °C
Boiling Point1140 °C
Thermal Conductivity (27°C)18.6 W/m·K
Electrical PropertiesMetric
Electrical Resistivity10-4 Ω·cm

Unless stated otherwise, all values are taken at room temperature (approximately 20°C or 68°F) and 1 atm pressure. (1 atm = 101,325 Pa)

References: 1) Cardarelli, François. Materials Handbook: A Concise Desktop Reference. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2018. 2) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 97th Edition. United Kingdom: CRC Press, 2016-2017. 3) A.M. Howatson, P.G. Lun, J.D. Todd, P.D. Engineering Tables and Data. United Kingdom: University of Oxford, Department of Engineering Science, 2009.