Recent reading material
In time, the elements further along the table would find use too. Americium, it turned out, released a steady stream of alpha particles, easily blocked by anything in the air. Today, my home smoke detector - and others like it around the world - contain 0.9ug of americium-241. It's more expensive, gram for gram, than gold, and probably the only radioisotope you can buy in your local supermarket.*
* Although the smoke detector is americium's great contribution to modern living, actinide chemists often joke that they are constantly looking for new ways to 'make americium great again.'