Fermium

Name:
Fermium
Detailed information:
(Fm). Element 100, aw 254, valence of 3, half-life 3 h. A synthetic radioactive element with atomic number 100 discovered in 1952. Fermium has since been prepared in a nuclear reactor by irradiating californium, plutonium, or einsteinium with neutrons in a cyclotron; by bombarding uranium with accelerated oxygen ions; and by other nuclear reactions. The element is named for Enrico Fermi. It has chemical properties similar to those of the rare earth erbium. Isotopes are known with mass numbers 254, 255, and 256.

Use:

Tracer studies.

See Actinide Series.