Polonium ( /pɵˈloʊniəm/ po-LOH-nee-əm) is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive element with no stable isotopes, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Applications of polonium are few, but include heating elements in spacecraft. Due to its position in the periodic table, polonium is sometimes referred to as a metalloid, however others note that on the basis of its properties and behaviour it is "unambiguously a metal."

Polonium has 33 known isotopes, all of which are radioactive. They have atomic masses that range from 188 to 220 u. ²¹⁰Po (half-life 138.4 days) is the most widely available. ²⁰⁹Po (half-life 103 years) and ²⁰⁸Po (half-life 2.9 years) can be made through the alpha, proton, or deuteron bombardment of lead or bismuth in a cyclotron.

²¹⁰Po is an alpha emitter that has a half-life of 138.4 days; it decays directly to its stable daughter isotope, ²⁰⁶Pb. A milligram of ²¹⁰Po emits about as many alpha particles per second as 4.5 grams of ²²⁶Ra. A few curies (1 curie equals 37 gigabecquerels, 1 Ci = 37 GBq) of ²¹⁰Po emit a blue glow which is caused by excitation of surrounding air. A single gram of ²¹⁰Po generates 140 watts of power. Because it emits many alpha particles, which are stopped within a very short distance in dense media and release their energy, ²¹⁰Po has been used as a lightweight heat source to power thermoelectric cells in artificial satellites; for instance, ²¹⁰Po heat source was also used in each of the Lunokhod rovers deployed on the surface of the Moon, to keep their internal components warm during the lunar nights. Some anti-static brushes contain up to 500 microcuries (20 MBq) of ²¹⁰Po as a source of charged particles for neutralizing static electricity in materials like photographic film.

Kent E. Hovind (born January 15, 1953) is an American young earth creationist. Hovind has spoken on creation science and has aimed to convince listeners to reject theories of evolution, geophysics, and cosmology in favor of the Genesis creation narrative from the Bible. Hovind's views are contradicted by scientific evidence and some of his ideas have also been criticized by young earth creationist organizations such as Answers in Genesis.

Hovind established the Creation Science Evangelism ministry in 1989, and frequently spoke on young Earth creationism at seminars at private schools and churches, debates, and on radio and television broadcasts. Since January 2007, Hovind has been serving a ten-year prison sentence after being convicted of 58 federal counts, including 12 tax offenses, one count of obstructing federal agents, and 45 counts of structuring cash transactions. He is incarcerated at the FPC Satellite Camp of the ADX Florence prison in Florence, Colorado.

On February 9, 1969, at the age of 16, Hovind became a born again Christian. In 1971, he graduated from East Peoria Community High School. He holds three degrees in Christian education (1974, 1988, 1991) from unaccredited institutions. He is married and has three adult children and five grandchildren. One of his sons, Eric Hovind, travels doing creationist presentations and debates using many of his father's arguments.