What Was Californium 252? A Dirty Bomb?

Californium, pronounced "kal-eh-FOR-nee-em," was produced in 1950 by Stanley Thompson, Kenneth Street, Glenn Seaborg and Albert Ghiorso at the University of California. It is the sixth synthetic transuranium element of the actinide group.

It has a half-life of 2.6 years and emits 2.4 x 1012 neutrons per second by spontaneous fission. The isotope's neutron energy output and high decay rate make it a strong candidate for use in nuclear medicine as a therapy for cancer and make dirty bombs