   #copyright

Rutherfordium

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Chemical elements


              104           lawrencium ← rutherfordium → dubnium
              Hf
             ↑
             Rf
             ↓
             (Upq)

                                  Periodic Table - Extended Periodic Table

                                                                   General
                               Name, Symbol, Number rutherfordium, Rf, 104
                                         Chemical series transition metals
                                              Group, Period, Block 4, 7, d
                                      Appearance unknown, probably silvery
                                                    white or metallic gray
                                                   Atomic mass (265) g/mol
                      Electron configuration probably [Rn] 5f^14 6d^2 7s^2
                               Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 10, 2
                                                  Phase presumably a solid
                                       Ionization energies 1st: 580 kJ/mol
                                            CAS registry number 53850-36-5
                                                                References

   Rutherfordium ( IPA: /ˌrʌðə(r)ˈfɔːdiəm/), also called eka-hafnium, is a
   chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Rf and
   atomic number 104. This is a highly radioactive synthetic element whose
   most stable isotope is ^265Rf with a half-life of approximately 13
   hours.

   This element therefore has no applications and little is known about
   it. Rutherfordium is the first transactinide element and it is
   predicted to have chemical properties similar to hafnium.

History

   Rutherfordium (named in honour of noted New Zealand nuclear physicist
   Ernest Rutherford) was reportedly first synthesized in 1964 at the
   Joint Nuclear Research Institute at Dubna ( U.S.S.R.). Researchers
   there bombarded ^242Pu with accelerated 113 to 115 MeV ^22Ne ions and
   claimed that they detected nuclear fission tracks in a special type of
   glass with a microscope which indicated the presence of a new element.

   In 1969 researchers at the University of California, Berkeley
   synthesized the element by subjecting ^249Cf and ^12C to high energy
   collisions. The UC group also stated that they could not reproduce the
   earlier synthesis by Soviet scientists.

   This resulted in an element naming controversy; since the Soviets
   claimed that it was first detected in Dubna, dubnium (Db) was
   suggested, as was kurchatovium ( IPA: /ˌkəːtʃəˈtəʊviəm/, symbol Ku) for
   element 104, in honour of Igor Vasilevich Kurchatov ( 1903- 1960),
   former head of Soviet nuclear research. The Americans, however,
   proposed rutherfordium (Rf) for the new element to honour Ernest
   Rutherford, who is known as the "father" of nuclear physics. The
   International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry ( IUPAC) adopted
   unnilquadium ( IPA: /ˌjuːnɪlˈkwɒdiəm/, symbol Unq) as a temporary,
   systematic element name, derived from the Latin names for digits 1, 0,
   and 4. However in 1997 they resolved the dispute and adopted the
   current name. (Element 105 was named Dubnium, instead.)
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutherfordium"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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