Bk

Berkelium

Identification

CAS Number: 7440-40-6

Discovery Year: 1949

Discoverer: G.T.Seaborg, S.G.Tompson, A.Ghiorso

Discovery Location: United States

Properties

Atomic Mass: 247 →Density: 14.78 g/cm³ →

Atomic Dimensions

Van der Waals Radius: 244 pm

Thermodynamics

Heat of Formation: 310 kJ/mol

Electronic Structure

Electron Config: [Rn] 5f9 7s2

Block: f

Period: 7 →

Oxidation States: +3, +4

Abundance & Geochemistry

Goldschmidt Class: synthetic

About

Radioactive metallic transuranic element. Belongs to actinoid series. Eight known isotopes, the most common Bk-247, has a half-life of 1.4*10^3 years. First produced by Glenn T. Seaborg and associates in 1949 by bombarding americium-241 with alpha particles.

Isotopes

Bk-247 247 ☢ 1.38e+3 a

Bk-249 249 ☢ 330 d