Periodic Table -> Nobelium

Nobelium


Nobelium Details

Nobelium Symbol: No

Nobelium Atomic Number: 102

Nobelium Atomic Weight: (259)

What is Nobelium?

Nobelium (atomic number 102, symbol No) is a synthetic element identified at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in 1966. It is a radioactive metal with a half-life of 58 minutes, of which only a few atoms have been isolated. Californium was bombarded with carbon to produce the element. Nucleosynthesis has been studied and attempted - by cold fusion and hot fusion. As decay products, its isotopes have been studied during the process of decay of heavier elements.

Researchers at the Nobel Institute in Sweden announced the element's discovery in 1957. The research team used C-13 nuclei to bombard Cm-244 and reported that they isolated a nobelium isotope with a half-life of 10 minutes. They retracted their claim later and explained that the activity was associated with background effects. The synthesis of nobelium was claimed by John Walton, Glen Seaborg, Torbjørn Sikkeland, and Albert Ghiorso in 1958. The team used C-12 and C-13 ions to bombard curium and detected decay of Fm-250. However, the researchers were unable to confirm the activity claimed by the Swedish team. Finally, researchers at the FLNR identified decay of a parent nucleus and were able to detect Fm-250. Further research at Berkley (1967) and Oak Ridge (1971) confirmed the discovery of nobelium. Following the Berkley results, the IUPAC recognized and ratified the name nobelium to commemorate Alfred Nobel.

This element forms a trivalent ion and a stable divalent ion in a solution. It is most likely gray and metallic or silvery-white, but its appearance is unknown. Nobelium is solid at room temperature and belongs to the group of actinides. Its density, boiling point, ionic radius, and Vanderwaals radius are unknown. Its 3rd, 2nd, and 1st ionization energies have been measured. The element has two oxidation states (+2 and +3), and its ionization energy is 6.65 eV. Chemical data is limited to its isotopes, half-life, and atomic number. The atomic weight of the known isotopes of nobelium ranges from 249 to 262.


According to some sources, the element has a melting point of 827 °C, but this has not been confirmed by official sources. Initial research assumed that nobelium reacted like other actinoids and formed a +III state. Later, it was discovered that the element formed a stable +II state. The ionic radius of the hexaaquanobelium (II) ion is 110 pm.

Nobelium has 12 radioisotopes, and the most stable one, No-259 has a half-life of 58 minutes. It decays into mendelevium-259 through electron capture and through alpha decay, the isotope decays into fermium-255. No-261 and No-263 are expected to have longer half-lives.

Nobelium may pose a radiation hazard if produced in sufficient amounts. It has no commercial applications or uses outside basic scientific research because only small amounts have been produced. Generally, the group of transferium elements has no economic role or application. They have unstable nuclei and do not exist in nature, which makes them hard to detect and make. Nobelium does not occur naturally and because it is unstable, it would quickly decompose to other elements. Thus, it is not considered a health hazard. It is a toxic element due to its radioactivity and has no biological role. The reserve base distribution, the country with the largest reserve base, and its crystal abundance are unknown. There are no known allotropes.



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