berkelium CAS 7440-40-6

With the progress of science and technology and the development of society, chemical products have invariably permeated our daily lives, in medicine, food, cosmetics, electronics, industry, and other areas, becoming an essential part of our lives. One such product is berkeliumwhich has developed particularly rapidly in recent years. Do you know about berkelium?

The official answer: Berkelium (known in Taiwan as berkelium) is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Bk and atomic number 97, belonging to the actinides and transuranic elements. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, discovered the element in December 1949, hence the name berkelium berkeley. Germanium is the fifth transuranic element to be discovered after neptunium (No. 93), Plutonium (No. 94), Americium (No. 95), and Curium (No. 96).
The most common isotope of germanium is germanium-249, which is produced by high-throughput nuclear reactors. The isotope is manufactured by oak ridge national laboratories in Tennessee and the Nuclear Reactor Research Institute in Dimitrovgrad, Russia. The second most important isotope, germanium-247, is produced by the impact of high-energy α particles into curium-244.
Since 1967, the amount of convertium produced in the United States has only exceeded 1 gram. Except for the synthesis of heavier transuranic and super-actinides used in scientific research, germanium has no practical use. In 2009, after 250 days of radiation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory made 22 milligrams of germanium-249 and purified the sample within 90 days thereafter. The purified element of germanium was sent to the Russian Joint Nuclear Research Institute in the same year, and Uus (element 117) was synthesized 150 days after the calcium-48 ion was hit by it.
The indenium element is a soft, silvery-white radioactive metal. The ecenium-249 isotope radiates low-energy electrons, so it is safe. But , it has a half-life of 330 days , and decays to produce osmium-249 , which releases high-energy α particles , which is dangerous. This phenomenon of decay is especially important when studying the properties of the element germanium and its compounds, because the constant generation of curium not only contaminates the chemical sample, but also emits radiation and destroys the structure of the sample.