Mendelevium

Main article: Isotopes of mendelevium
iso	NA	half-life	DM	DE (MeV)	DP
²⁵⁷Md	syn	5.52 h	ε	0.406	²⁵⁷Fm
			α	7.558	²⁵³Es
			SF	-	-
²⁵⁸Md	syn	51.5 d	ε	1.230	²⁵⁸Fm
²⁶⁰Md	syn	31.8 d	SF	-	-
			α	7.000	²⁵⁶Es
			ε	-	²⁶⁰Fm
			β^-	1.000	²⁶⁰No

References

Mendelevium (pronounced /ˌmɛndəˈlɛviəm/)) is a synthetic element with the symbol Md (formerly Mv) and the atomic number 101. A metallic radioactive transuranic element of the actinides, mendelevium is synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles and was named after Dmitri Mendeleev.

1 Notable characteristics
2 History
3 Isotopes
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Notable characteristics

Researchers have shown that mendelevium has a moderately stable dipositive (II) oxidation state in addition to the more characteristic (for actinide elements) tripositive (III) oxidation state. ²⁵⁶Md has been used to find out some of the chemical properties of this element while in an aqueous solution. There are no other uses of mendelevium and only trace amounts of the element have ever been produced.

[edit] History

Mendelevium (for Dmitri Mendeleev, surname commonly spelt as Mendeleev, Mendeleyev, Mendeléef, or even Mendelejeff, and first name sometimes spelt as Dmitry or Dmitriy) was first synthesized by Albert Ghiorso (team leader), Glenn T. Seaborg, Bernard Harvey, Greg Choppin, and Stanley G. Thompson in early 1955 at the University of California, Berkeley. The team produced ²⁵⁶Md (half-life of 76 minutes) when they bombarded an ²⁵³Es target with alpha particles (helium nuclei) in the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory's 60-inch cyclotron (²⁵⁶Md was the first element to be synthesized one-atom-at-a-time). Element 101 was the ninth transuranic element synthesized. Contrary to some descriptions, it was never known as "unnilunium".

[edit] Isotopes

15 radioisotopes of mendelevium have been characterized, with the most stable being ²⁵⁸Md with a half-life of 51.5 days, ²⁶⁰Md with a half-life of 31.8 days, and ²⁵⁷Md with a half-life of 5.52 hours. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 97 minutes, and the majority of these have half-lives that are less than 5 minutes. This element also has 1 meta state, ^258mMd (t_½ 57 minutes). The isotopes of mendelevium range in atomic weight from 245.091 u (²⁴⁵Md) to 260.104 u (²⁶⁰Md).