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Atomic Number : 100Atomic Symbol : FmAtomic Weight : 257Melting item : 2,781 F ( 1,527 C)Boiling Point : unnamed
Word Origin : Fermium was name for Italian physicist and Nobel Laureate Enrico Fermi , who developed the first artificial , self - sustaining atomic nuclear reactor . He was recently deceased at the time of the element ’s find .
Fermium
Discovery : In 1952 , fermium was discovered from the side effect of the “ Ivy Mike ” ten - megaton atomic test in the South Pacific . This was the first successful H fusion bomb detonation , and it also producedeinsteinium .
Fermium was formally identified by Albert Ghiorso and his team when they return from the South Pacific to their science lab at University of California , Berkeley and study precious coral from the tryout site . They found255Fm , a daughter of einsteinium isotope beta decay . Fermium ’s discovery was kept under wraps until 1955 on orders from the U.S. military , due to Cold War tensions .
Properties of fermium
As the heavy synthetic element that can be formed by neutron onslaught of light element , fermium is the heaviest element that can be prepared in macroscopical quantities . [ SeePeriodic Table of the Elements ]
Fm metal has not been set up , though alloys with rare earth metals have been grow . The alloy of fermium andytterbiumis glistening and ash grey . Measurements and predictions have been made from that and other alloys . It has been deduced that fermium metals will be usually in a divalent state but could form a trivalent state with modest compression .
Fermium ’s chemical substance property have been study only with tracer bullet measure expect advanced observational techniques . It has been hear that fermium ’s chemistry is distinctive of lateactinides , with a III oxidation body politic prevailing but also a tendency toward a II oxidation state nowadays .
There are 21 know isotopes of Fm , which range in nuclear weights from 242 to 260 . Two are metastable . The most stable is257Fm with a half - life story of 100.5 day . The neutron - capture product of257Fm,258Fm , undergoes spontaneous fission and has a half - life-time of just 370 microsecond .
Though fermium is hard to prevail , pure255Fm can be easily isolated by " milk " the beta - radioactive decay girl of pure255Es .
root of Fm
Fermium is artificially produced , though it did occur by nature once , with atomic number 99 , at the natural nuclear fission reactor at Oklo , Gabon . The element no longer exists at that land site , however .
Fermium production is the result of multiple neutron captures in sluttish element , such asuraniumandcurium , watch by sequent beta decays . These events happen most often when there is an increased neutron fluxion — the most powerful case of which is a atomic burst . That is why it was find after the Ivy Mike burst .
It can also be produced at atomic reactors or gas pedal , when light actinides are bombard with neutrons . Twenty- to 200 - kiloton thermonuclear explosions are believe to acquire fermium in the edict of milligram , although it is always mixed with an tremendous amount of junk . After being produced in a blast , fermium must be separated from the debris and many other actinides and lanthanide fission product . Solvent descent and ion rally are two way of life of part it .
Uses of fermium
Since fermium is encounter only in small measure and all its isotopes have myopic half - life , there is no commercial-grade use for the element . It is , however , used in scientific inquiry that expands the knowledge of the rest of the occasional mesa .
( Sources : Los Alamos National Laboratory , Jefferson Lab )
