what are some things that have the element californium inside it? what are some uses of californium?

Answer 1

What you have to understand is that californium is a manufactured element. All the californium we have is pretty much assembled one nucleus at a time. Which means even if there were a lot of uses for the stuff, there wouldn't be much around to use.

Californium-252 (as other have mentioned) is a VERY strong neutron emitter. One microgram can emit 170,000,000 neutrons per minute. It has a half-life of 2.6 years, so sometimes an accumulation of the stuff is used for things.

Typical applications include finding cracks in things, locating subterranean mineral deposits, treatment of certain diseases, and stuff like that. Because of it's strength, even minute amounts can be used, allowing otherwise bulky equipment to be hand-held in some cases. As a strong neutron emitter it is also wickedly dangerous, so most applications that make use of it would happily use something else if they could.

Answer 2

Uses Of Californium

Answer 3

There are at present few commercial uses for the stuff; it is highly radioactive. It emits copious amounts of neutrons, and has been used for moisture measurement and analysis of rock structures surrounding oil wells. Americium, which has one fewer proton and electron, is used as an ionizing agent in smoke detectors, and that is about all that it is good for.