Elemental Limericks, Part 10

[deckardcanine]

Protactinium’s not like its neighbors,
Which feature in scientists’ labors.
It gets mostly removed
From reactors; its proved
Inefficiency does it no favors.

Uranium’s last among those
That occur when no humans impose
Upon nature. Enhanc-
Ing electrical plants,
It’s still dangerous, everyone knows.

Neptunium builds up in smoke
Detectors of everyday folk.
In theory, it could
Be sufficiently good
For a fuel or a bomb. That’s no joke.

Plutonium keeps up the pattern
Of naming for bodies past Saturn.
It first was produced
In amounts good for use
By a project performed in Manhattan.

Americium’s used to create
Other elements, all of them late
In the table, perforce.
It is also a source
Of neutrons for probing; that’s great.

Now, curium’s named for Curie,
Both Pierre and his darling Marie.
It helps analyze rocks
But is not good in MOX
Fuel—polluting reactors, you see.

Berkelium’s named for the city
Where quite the distinguished committee
Discovered it, plus
Several others. I just
Wish the place name had really been pretty.

Californium-252
Has its uses—in fact, quite a few,
Such as helping prospect,
Treat some cancers, detect
Cracks in aircraft, and educate too.

Einsteinium’s named for the guy
Whose theory let atom bombs fly.
It came forth in a spike
When they blew Ivy Mike,
Just enough to be seen with mere eyes.

Primordial fermium’s gone,
Decayed from the earth since the dawn,
But a bomb brought it back
In a test (no attack).
It’s not useful, and thus we’ve moved on.