Transfermium element
Encyclopedia
A transfermium element is a chemical element
with atomic number
greater than 100, that of Fermium
. The transfermium elements have a number of common characteristics: they do not occur naturally
; they are difficult to produce in a laboratory; they have very short half lives; and are radioactive.
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
with atomic number
Atomic number
In chemistry and physics, the atomic number is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus. It is conventionally represented by the symbol Z. The atomic number uniquely identifies a chemical element...
greater than 100, that of Fermium
Fermium
Fermium is a synthetic element with the symbol Fm. It is the 100th element in the periodic table and a member of the actinide series. It is the heaviest element that can be formed by neutron bombardment of lighter elements, and hence the last element that can be prepared in macroscopic quantities,...
. The transfermium elements have a number of common characteristics: they do not occur naturally
Synthetic element
In chemistry, a synthetic element is a chemical element that is too unstable to occur naturally on Earth, and therefore has to be created artificially. So far 30 synthetic elements have been discovered—that is, synthesized...
; they are difficult to produce in a laboratory; they have very short half lives; and are radioactive.