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Berkelium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Bk and atomic number 97. It is a member of the actinide and transuranium element series. It is named after the city of Berkeley, California, the location of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (then the University of California Radiation Laboratory) where it was discovered in ...
Berkelium was first made some 60 years ago by Stan Thomson, Al Ghiroso and Glen Seaborg by bombarding the isotope americium-241 with alpha particles. The half-life of the first isotope of berkelium to be produced in this way was a healthy 4.5 hours.
Berkelium, synthetic chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 97. All berkelium isotopes are radioactive, and the only use of berkelium has been in the synthesis of heavier elements such as tennessine. The element berkelium was discovered in 1949.
- Berkelium Discovery
- Berkelium Properties
- Berkelium Name Origin
- Appearance
- Melting Point
- Isotopes
- Berkelium Compounds
- Berkelium Uses
- Berkelium Toxicity
- Berkelium Fast Facts
Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Kenneth Street, Jr., and Albert Ghiorso produced berkelium in December 1949 at the University of California, Berkeley (United States). The scientists bombarded americium-241 with alpha particles in a cyclotron to yield berkelium-243 and two free neutrons.
Such a small quantity of this element has been produced that very little is known about its properties. Most of the available information is based on predicted properties, based on the element's location on the periodic table. It is a paramagnetic metal and has one of the lowest bulk modulus values of the actinides. Bk3+ions are fluorescent at 652 ...
Berkelium is pronounced as BURK-lee-em. The element is named after Berkeley, California, where it was discovered. The element californiumis also named for this lab.
Berkelium has a traditional shiny, metallic appearance. It is a soft, radioactive solid at room temperature.
The melting point of berkelium metal is 986 °C. This value is below that of neighbor element curium (1340 °C), but higher than that of californium (900 °C).
All of the isotopes of berkelium are radioactive. Berkelium-243 was the first isotope to be produced. The most stable isotope is berkelium-247, which has a half-life of 1380 years, eventually decaying into americium-243 via alpha decay. About 20 isotopes of berkelium are known.
Berkelium chloride (BkCl3) was the first Bk compound produced in sufficient quantity to be visible. The compound was synthesized in 1962 and weighed approximately 3 billionths of a gram. Other compounds which have been produced and studied using x-ray diffraction include berkelium oxychloride, berkelium fluoride (BkF3), berkelium dioxide (BkO2), an...
Since so little berkelium has ever been produced, there are no known uses of the element at this time aside from scientific research. Most of this research goes toward the synthesis of heavier elements. A 22-milligram sample of berkelium was synthesized at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was used to make element 117 for the first time, by bombard...
The toxicity of berkelium has not been well-studied, but it's safe to assume it presents a health hazard if ingested or inhaled, due to its radioactivity. Berkelium-249 emits low-energy electrons and is reasonably safe to handle. It decays in alpha-emitting californium-249, which remains relatively safe for handling, but does result in free-radical...
Element Name: BerkeliumElement Symbol: BkAtomic Number: 97Appearance: Silvery metalOct 7, 2013 · Word Origin: Berkelium was named for the city of its origin, Berkeley, California. Discovery: Berkelium was first produced at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1949 by Stanley G....
History. Berkelium was first synthesized by Glenn T. Seaborg, Albert Ghiorso, Stanley G. Thompson, and Kenneth Street, Jr., at the University of California, Berkeley in December 1949. The team used a cyclotron to bombard a milligram-sized target of 241 Am with alpha particles to produce 243 Bk ( half-life 4.5 hours) and two free neutrons.
Berkelium: The 60-inch cyclotron at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, which was used to produce Berkelium for the first time. Fun fact about Berkelium: Because of its relatively long half-life, berkelium-249 is used as a starting material for the production of higher atomic number actinides.
