Nobelium Element Facts

102
No
258
Nobelium
Nobelium Radioactive
Nobelium is Radioactive.

General:

Name: Nobelium
Type: Actinide
Density @ 293 K: g/cm3

Discovery of Nobelium

Nobelium was discovered in 1958 by Albert Ghiorso, Torbjørn Sikkeland, John Walton, and Glenn Seaborg at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California. (1)

A heavy-ion linear accelerator (HILAC) was used to bombard a thin target of curium (95 percent 244Cm and 4.5 percent 246Cm) with carbon-12 ions producing nobelium-254 (half-life 55 seconds). (2), (3)

Nobelium was identified by chemical analysis using a "double recoil technique" involving the chemical identification of a known daughter isotope, fermium-250. (4), (5)

The element was given its name in honor of Alfred Nobel.
Symbol: No
Atomic weight: 259
Atomic volume: cm3/mol


'Nobelium' had actually been proposed as the name of element 102 a year earlier, in 1957, by scientists from the Nobel Institute of Physics who believed they had produced it. (Further investigations ruled out the possiblity they had made nobelium.) The name was approved by The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in 1957. (2)

States

State (s, l, g): solid
Melting point: K   ( oC)

Boiling point: K   ( oC)

Energies

Specific heat capacity: J g-1 K-1
Heat of fusion: kJ mol-1
1st ionization energy: 642 kJ mol-1
3rd ionization energy: kJ mol-1
Heat of atomization: kJ mol-1
Heat of vaporization: kJ mol-1
2nd ionization energy: kJ mol-1
Electron affinity: kJ mol-1

Oxidation & Electrons

Shells: 2,8,18,32,32,8,2
Minimum oxidation number: 0
Min. common oxidation no.: 0
Electronegativity (Pauling Scale): 1.3
Electron configuration: [Rn] 5f14 7s2
Maximum oxidation number: 3
Max. common oxidation no.: 3
Polarizability volume: 17.5 Å3

Appearance & Characteristics

Structure: close packed cubic
Hardness: mohs

Gammasphere
Argonne National Laboratory: Analysis of gamma rays generated in the Gammasphere established that the nuclei in nobelium atoms are not shaped like spheres, but are actually elongated like footballs. The 10-foot-tall, 14-ton Gammasphere has 110 germanium detectors cooled with liquid nitrogen.
Color:


Harmful effects:
Nobelium is harmful due to its radioactivity.

Characteristics:
Nobelium is a synthetic, highly radioactive metal that has only been produced in miniscule amounts.

Nobelium is normally a divalent ion in aqueous solution. (6)

Nobelium metal has not been prepared. (6a)

Studies at Argonne National Laboratory in 1998 showed that the nucleus of nobelium-254, unlike lighter elements, was elongated by about 20 percent, like a football. (7)

Uses:
Nobelium is of scientific research interest only.

Reactions & Compounds

Reaction with air:
Reaction with 15 M HNO3:
Oxide(s):
Hydride(s):
Reaction with 6 M HCl:
Reaction with 6 M NaOH:
Chloride(s):

Radius

Atomic radius: pm
Ionic radius (2+ ion): 105 pm
Ionic radius (2- ion): pm
Ionic radius (1+ ion): pm
Ionic radius (3+ ion): pm
Ionic radius (1- ion): pm

Conductivity

Thermal conductivity: W m-1 K-1
Electrical conductivity: x 106 S cm-1

Abundance & Isotopes

Abundance earth's crust: nil
Abundance solar system:
Cost, pure: $ per g
Cost, bulk: per 100g

Source: Nobelium is a synthetic element and is not found naturally. Nobelium is created by nuclear bombardment, and has only been produced in miniscule amounts. Nobelium can be produced by irradiating a californium-249 target with carbon-12 ions. (6b)

Isotopes: Nobelium has 12 isotopes whose half-lives are known, with mass numbers 250 to 262. Nobelium has no naturally occuring isotopes. Its longest lived isotopes are 259No with a half-life of 51.5 minutes, 255No, with a half-life of 31.8 minutes and 253No with a half-life of 1.7 minutes.


References

1. John Emsley, Nature's building blocks: an A-Z guide to the elements., Oxford University Press, 2003., p459.
2. Robert J. Silva, The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements., Springer., Vol 3.13, p1637.
3. David R. Lide, CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 86th Ed., Taylor & Francis Group, 2006, p4-25.
4. National research Council (US), Opportunities and challenges in research with transplutionium elements., National Academies, 1983, p156-157.
5. Glenn 1. Seaborg, The Transcalifornium Elements., Journal of Chemical Education, Vol 36.1 (1959) p41.
6. Robert J. Silva, The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements., Springer., Vol 3.13, p1637.
6a. Robert J. Silva, The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements., Springer., Vol 3.13, p1639.
6b. Robert J. Silva, The Chemistry of the Actinide and Transactinide Elements., Springer., Vol 3.13, p1638.
7. Gammasphere.

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