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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: californium

Californiumkăl'ĭfôr′nēəm [from California], artificially produced, radioactive metallic chemical element; symbol Cf; at. no. 98; mass no. of most stable isotope 251; m.p. about 900°C; b.p. about 1,470°C; density unknown; valence +3. Californium is a member of the actinide series of chemical elements, found in Group 3 of the periodic table. Its chemical properties are similar to those of lanthanum. Eighteen isotopes of californium are known, with half-lives ranging from about 40 sec for californium-239 to about 900 years for californium-251, the most stable isotope. Californium-249 (half-life 351 years) is most useful for chemical investigations; it is obtained by the decay of berkelium-249. Four solid compounds of californium have been prepared; they are the trichloride, oxychloride, oxyfluoride, and oxide. Californium-252 (half-life 2.6 years) is produced in nuclear reactors for use as a source of neutrons for counters and electronic systems in industrial and medical applications. The sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, californium has yet to be found in the earth's crust. Californium was first produced in 1950 by Glenn T. Seaborg, Stanley G. Thompson, Albert Ghiorso, and Kenneth Street, Jr., in a cyclotron at the Univ. of California at Berkeley by bombarding curium-242 with alpha particles, resulting in californium-245 (half-life 45 min).

Wikipedia search results for: Californium

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Californium is a synthetic radioactive metallic chemical element in the actinide series with the symbol Cf and atomic number 98. The element was first produced in 1950 by bombarding curium with alpha particles at the University of California at Berkeley. This was the sixth transuranium element to be synthesized. Californium is also one of the elements of highest atomic mass that have been produced in weighable amounts. Californium was named for both the State of California and and the University of California. Californium is one of the few transuranium elements that have practical applications. These are application that take advantage of...more »

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: californium

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Periodic Table of the Elements: Californium
Periodic Table of the Elements: CaliforniumAtomic Number:98Atomic Symbol:CfCaliforniumAtomic Weight:(251)ElectronConfiguration:2 · 8 · 1832 · 288 · 2
Cf
Cf, symbol for the element californium.
lawrencium
Lawrencium, artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Lr; at. no. 103; mass number of most stable isotope 262; m.p. about 1,627°C; b.p. and sp. gr. unknown; valence +3. Lawren...
Seaborg, Glenn Theodore
Seaborg, Glenn Theodore, 1912–99, American chemist, b. Ishpeming, Mich., grad. Univ. of California at Los Angeles, 1934, Ph.D. Univ. of California at Berkeley, 1937. In 1939, he began teaching...
actinide series
Actinide series, a series of radioactive metallic elements in Group 3 of the periodic table. Members of the series are often called actinides, although actinium (at. no. 89) is not always cons...
seaborgium
Seaborgium, artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Sg; at. no. 106; mass number of most stable isotope 266; m.p., b.p., sp. gr., and valence unknown. Situated in Group 6 of...
synthetic elements
Synthetic elements, in chemistry, radioactive elements that were not discovered occurring in nature but as artificially produced isotopes. They are technetium (at. no. 43), which was the first...
ununoctium
Ununoctium, artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Uuo; at. no. 118. Scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and Lawrence Livermore Natio...
dubnium
Dubnium, artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Db; at. no. 105; mass number of most stable isotope 262; m.p., b.p., and sp. gr. unknown; valence +5. Situated in Group 5 of...
rutherfordium
Rutherfordium, artificially produced radioactive chemical element; symbol Rf; at. no. 104; mass number of most stable isotope 261; m.p., b.p., and sp. gr. unknown; valence +4. It is the first ...

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