Berkelium

Berkelium is a synthetic, radioactive actinide element with atomic number 97. It was first produced at the University of California, Berkeley, by bombarding americium with alpha particles.

Actinide: An element in the series from actinium through lawrencium, whose atoms have progressively filled 5f orbitals. Berkelium is a transuranic member of this series, with characteristic actinide chemistry.
Glenn T. Seaborg: An American chemist who helped discover several transuranium elements and developed the actinide concept. Seaborg co-led the Berkeley team that identified berkelium in 1949.
Americium: A synthetic radioactive actinide element with atomic number 95. Americium-241 was the target material in the first berkelium-production experiment.
Californium: A synthetic radioactive actinide element with atomic number 98. Berkelium-249 targets have been used to produce californium isotopes.
IUPAC: The international organization that standardizes chemical nomenclature, terminology, and measurement conventions. IUPAC approved the name berkelium and its chemical symbol Bk.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom's nucleus, which identifies its chemical element. Berkelium's 97 protons define its position in the periodic table.
Albert Ghiorso: An American nuclear physicist who helped discover numerous transuranium elements at Berkeley. Ghiorso was part of the team that produced and identified berkelium.
Alpha particle: A helium-4 nucleus containing two protons and two neutrons. Alpha-particle bombardment added nuclear charge and mass to americium in the discovery reaction.
Tennessine: A synthetic element with atomic number 117, first identified in reactions involving berkelium-249. The discovery of tennessine depended on irradiating berkelium-249 with calcium-48 ions.
Chemical element naming: The conventions and processes used to assign names and symbols to chemical elements. Berkelium's name follows the tradition of naming elements after places of discovery.

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