Mendelevium

Mendelevium • Actinide Rare Earth

Symbol: Md
Date of discovery: 1955
Name origin: Dmitri Mendeleev
Appearance: unknown
Discoverer: Albert Ghiorso
Obtained from: man-made

Melting point: 1100 K
Boiling point: unknown
Density[kg/m³]: unknown
Molar volume: unknown
Protons/Electrons: 101
Neutrons: 157
Shell structure: 2,8,18,32,31,8,2
Electron configuration: [Rn]5f137s2
Oxidation state: 2,3
Crystal structure: unknown

Named after Dmitri Mendeleev, father of the periodic table, mendelevium is a metallic, radioactive transuranic element of the actinides. It is a synthetic element first identified by Albert Ghiorso in the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory’s 60-inch cyclotron. The isotope produced was ²⁵⁶Md, which has a half-life of 76 minutes. This first identification was notable in that ²⁵⁶Md was synthesized on a one-atom-at-a-time basis. As only very little mendelevium has ever been made, mendelevium has no uses.