El polonio es un elemento químico en la tabla periódica cuyo símbolo es Po y su número atómico es 84. Se trata de un raro metaloide altamente radiactivo, químicamente similar al telurio y al bismuto, presente en minerales de uranio.

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Polonium is a chemical element with symbol Po and atomic number 84. A rare and highly radioactive metal with no stable isotopes, polonium is chemically similar to selenium and tellurium, though it also shows resemblances to its horizontal neighbors thallium, lead, and bismuth due to its metallic character. Due to the short half-life of all its isotopes, its natural occurrence is limited to tiny traces of the fleeting polonium-210 (with a half-life of 138 days) in uranium ores, as it is the penultimate daughter of natural uranium-238. Though slightly longer-lived isotopes exist, they are much more difficult to produce. Today, polonium is more often produced in milligram quantities by the neutron irradiation of bismuth. Due to its intense radioactivity, which results in radiolysis of chemical bonds and immense radioactive self-heating, its chemistry has mostly been investigated on the trace scale only. Polonium was discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie, when it was chemically separated out of uranium ore and identified solely by its strong radioactivity: it was the first element to be so discovered. It was named after Marie Curie's homeland of Poland. Applications of polonium are sparse and dependent on its radioactivity: they include heaters in space probes, antistatic devices, and sources of neutrons and alpha particles. Its intense radioactivity makes it dangerously toxic to life.

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