Name       : Actinium
Symbol     : Ac
Atomic #   : 89
Atom weight: 227.028
Melting P. : 1050
Boiling P. : 3200
Oxidation  : +3
Pronounced : ak-TIN-i-em
From       : Greek aktis, aktinos, "ray"
Identified : Andre-Louis Debierne in 1899
Appearance : Heavy, Silvery-white metal that is very radioactive
Note       : Glows in dark with an eerie blue light
             
[Properties]

  Actinium is a heavy, silvery-white metal that is very radioactive. 
Samples decay quickly to thorium and francium, making it difficult to
determine precise physical properties.
  Actinium is the last member of the Group-IIIB elements. More important,
actinium is the first of a series of metals that share a number of
important physical and chemical properties. These are the actinide 
elements - elements 89 through 103.
  Actinium is obtained as an "impurity" in the pitchblende that is mined
for its uranium content. After picking through a ton of pitchblende, one
can expect to squeeze about one tenth of a gram of actinium out of it.
There is no call for commercial quantities of actinium.