Radon
Chemical element with atomic number 86 (Rn)
Why this is trending
Interest in “Radon” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-26.
Categorised under Science & Nature, this article fits a familiar pattern. Science and technology topics tend to trend after breakthroughs, space missions, health announcements, or widely shared research findings.
By monitoring millions of daily Wikipedia page views, GlyphSignal helps you spot cultural moments as they happen and understand the stories behind the numbers.
Key Takeaways
- Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86.
- Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only 222 Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.
- Radon isotopes are the immediate decay products of radium isotopes.
- Radon will be present on Earth for several billion more years despite its short half-life, because it is constantly being produced as a step in the decay chains of 238 U and 232 Th, both of which are abundant radioactive nuclides with half-lives of at least several billion years.
- 222 Rn occurs in significant quantities as a step in the normal radioactive decay chain of 238 U, also known as the uranium series, which slowly decays into a variety of radioactive nuclides and eventually decays into stable 206 Pb.
Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only 222Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to be released from the soil and rock where it is generated. Radon isotopes are the immediate decay products of radium isotopes.
The instability of 222Rn, its most stable isotope, makes radon one of the rarest elements. Radon will be present on Earth for several billion more years despite its short half-life, because it is constantly being produced as a step in the decay chains of 238U and 232Th, both of which are abundant radioactive nuclides with half-lives of at least several billion years. The decay of radon produces many other short-lived nuclides, known as "radon daughters", ending at stable isotopes of lead. 222Rn occurs in significant quantities as a step in the normal radioactive decay chain of 238U, also known as the uranium series, which slowly decays into a variety of radioactive nuclides and eventually decays into stable 206Pb. 220Rn occurs in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the decay chain of 232Th, also known as the thorium series, which eventually decays into stable 208Pb.
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
