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It's Elemental

The Element Einsteinium

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Einsteinium

99 Es Einsteinium 252

Atomic Number: 99

Atomic Weight: 252

Melting Point: 1133 K (860°C or 1580°F)

Boiling Point: Unknown

Density: Unknown

Phase at Room Temperature: Solid

Element Classification: Metal

Period Number: 7

Group Number: none

Group Name: Actinide

Special Notes: Radioactive and Artificially Produced

What's in a name? Named after the scientist Albert Einstein.

Say what? Einsteinium is pronounced as ine-STINE-ee-em.

History and Uses:

Einsteinium was discovered by a team of scientists led by Albert Ghiorso in 1952 while studying the radioactive debris produced by the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb. The isotope they discovered, einsteinium-253, has a half-life of about 20 days and was produced by combining 15 neutrons with uranium-238, which then underwent seven beta decays. Today, einsteinium is produced though a lengthy chain of nuclear reactions that involves bombarding each isotope in the chain with neutrons and then allowing the resulting isotope to undergo beta decay.

Einsteinium's most stable isotope, einsteinium-252, has a half-life of about 471.7 days. It decays into berkelium-248 through alpha decay or into californium-252 through electron capture.

Since only small amounts of einsteinium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research.

Estimated Crustal Abundance: Not Applicable

Estimated Oceanic Abundance: Not Applicable

Number of Stable Isotopes: 0 (View all isotope data)

Ionization Energy: 6.42 eV

Oxidation States: +3

Electron Shell Configuration:

1s2

2s2   2p6

3s2   3p6   3d10

4s2   4p6   4d10   4f14

5s2   5p6   5d10   5f11

6s2   6p6

7s2

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For questions about this page, please contact Carol McKisson.