Fermium

Basic Information

 * Name:** Fermium
 * Symbol:** Fm
 * Atomic Number:** 100
 * Atomic Mass:** (257.0) amu
 * Melting Point:** Unknown
 * Boiling Point:** Unknown
 * Number of Protons/Electrons:** 100
 * Number of Neutrons:** 157
 * Classification:** Rare Earth
 * Crystal Structure:** Unknown
 * Density @ 293 K:** Unknown
 * Color:** Unknown

Atomic Structure

 * [[image:http://www.chemicalelements.com/bohr/b0100.gif width="383" height="381"]] ||  || **Number of Energy Levels:** 7
 * First Energy Level:** **Second Energy Level:** **Third Energy Level:** **Fourth Energy Level:** **Fifth Energy Level:** **Sixth Energy Level:** **Seventh Energy Level:** ||

Isotopes

 * ** Isotope ** || ** Half Life ** ||
 * Fm-249 || 3.0 minutes ||

Facts

 * Date of Discovery:** 1953
 * Discoverer:** Argonne, Los Alamos, University of California
 * Name Origin:** After Enrico Fermi
 * Uses:** No uses known
 * Obtained From:** Man-made

Radioactive and Artificially Produced Fermium was discovered by a team of scientists led by Albert Ghiorso in 1952 while studying the radioactive debris produced by the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb. The isotope they discovered, fermium-255, has a half-life of about 20 hours and was produced by combining 17 neutrons with uranium-238, which then underwent eight beta decays. Today, fermium is produced though a lengthy chain of nuclear reactions that involves bombarding each isotope in the chain with neutrons and then allowing the resulting isotope to undergo beta decay. Fermium's most stable isotope, fermium-257, has a half-life of about 100.5 days. It decays into californium-253 through alpha decay or decays through spontaneous fission. Due to the small amounts produced and its short half-life, there are currently no uses for fermium outside of basic scientific research. Fermium was first discovered in the fallout from the 'Ivy Mike' nuclear test (1 November 1952), the first successful test of a hydrogen bomb. Initial examination of the debris from the explosion had shown the production of a new isotope of plutonium this could only have formed by the absorption of six neutrons by a uranium-238 nucleus followed by two β− decays. At the time, the absorption of neutrons by a heavy nucleus was thought to be a rare process, but the identification of Pu raised the possibility that still more neutrons could have been absorbed by the uranium nucleius leading to new element. Element 99 (einsteinium) was quickly discovered on filter papers which had been flown through the cloud from the explosion (the same sampling technique that had been used to discover Pu ). It was then identified in December 1952 by Albert Ghiorso and co-workers at the University of California at Berkeley.
 * Atomic Number:** 100
 * Atomic Weight:** 257
 * Melting Point:** 1800 K (1527°C or 2781°F)
 * Boiling Point:** Unknown
 * Density:** Unknown
 * Phase at Room Temperature:** Solid
 * Element Classification:** Metal
 * Period Number:** 7 **Group Number:** none **Group Name:** Actinide
 * What's in a name?** Named after the scientist Enrico Fermi.
 * Say what?** Fermium is pronounced as **FER-mee-em**.
 * History and Uses:**
 * Estimated Crustal Abundance:** Not Applicable
 * Estimated Oceanic Abundance:** Not Applicable
 * Number of Stable Isotopes:** 0
 * Ionization Energy:** 6.50 eV
 * Oxidation State:** +3