174pm Curium was first identified by Seaborg, James and Ghiorso in 1944. It is a manmade element that is used in research. The most stable isotope of curium, Cm-247, has a half life of 16 million years. Scientists believe that the reason no curium has ever been detected in nature is because its half life is so short compared to the earth's age. This shows that curium could be used as a possible power source.
Curium is a silver metal and usually makes faint yellow compounds.