Discovery date : 1963
Discovered by: Georgy Flerov and colleagues and at Dubna, near Moscow, Russia,
and independently by Albert Ghiorso and colleagues at Berkeley, California, USA
Origin of the name: Nobelium is named for Alfred Nobel, the founder of the Nobel prize.
Allotropes :
~>NOBELIUM is a synthetic chemical element with symbol No and atomic number 102. It is named in honor of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and benefactor of science. A radioactive metal, it is the tenth transuranic element and is the penultimate member of the actinide series.
| FACT BOX | |||
| Group | Actinides | Melting point | 827°C, 1521°F, 1100 K |
| Period | 7 | Boiling point | Unknown |
| Block | f | Density (g cm−3) | Unknown |
| Atomic number | 102 | Relative atomic mass | [259] |
| State at 20°C | Solid | Key isotopes | 259No |
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f147s2 | CAS number | 10028-14-5 |
| ChemSpider ID | 23207 | ChemSpider is a free chemical structure database | |
Elements and Periodic Table History
This element’s history is one of controversy. In 1956, a team led by Georgy Flerov at the Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow, synthesised element 102 by bombarding plutonium with oxygen and got atoms of element 102, isotope-252. However, they did not report their success.
In 1957, the Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm announced isotope-253 which had been made by bombarding curium with carbon. Then in 1958, Albert Ghiorso at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) claimed isotope-254, also made by bombarding curium with carbon. These claims were challenged by the Russians.
In 1962-63, the Russian Joint Institute of Nuclear Research, based at Dubna, synthesised isotopes 252 to 256. Ghiorso still insisted his group were the first to discover element 102, and so began years of recrimination, finally ending in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemists deciding in favour of the Russians being the discoverers.