Berkelium (Bk), atomic number (Z) 97, is the eighth member of the actinide series. Thirteen isotopes (mass = 236, 238, 240, 242–251) have been synthesized and observed. They range in half lives from 144 s to 1380 years. Berkelium has no natural abundance. The electron configurations of the several ionic forms of this element have been determined from the analysis of spectroscopic data obtained in connection with the measurement of the emission lines from neutral and charged gaseous atoms: M0(g)[Rn]5f97s2; M+(g)[Rn]5f97s1; M+2(g)[Rn]5f9; M+3(g)[Rn]5f8; M+4(g)[Rn]5f7. The crystal structure ionic radius for the +3 ion with a coordination number of six is 0.0955 nm and for the +4 ion with the same coordination number 0.0833 nm.
Berkelium was discovered in 1949 by S.G. Thompson, A. Ghiorso, and G.T. Seaborg, who bombarded milligram quantities of 241Am with 35 MeV helium ions and observed the presence of the isotope, 243Bk. The production reaction is:
The americium was produced through...
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Bibliography
Firestone, R.B. (1996) Table of Isotopes, Volume II: A = 151–272. New York: Wiley-Interscience, 2877 pp.
Seaborg, G. T. and Loveland, W.D. (1990) The Elements Beyond Uranium. New York: Wiley-Interscience, 359 pp.
Thompson, S.G., Ghiorso, A. and Seaborg, G.T. (1950) Element 97. Phys. Rev., 77, 838.
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Palmer, C.E.A. (1998). Berkelium . In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_22
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