Nobelium
⚛️ In Your World
Nobelium is a synthetic element that is so unstable that any amount large enough to see would be vaporized by its own intense radioactivity. It has no applications outside of fundamental scientific research. Its only purpose is to be studied by scientists to learn more about the properties of superheavy elements and the forces that hold atomic nuclei together.
📖 The Discovery Story
The discovery of nobelium was complex and controversial. The first claim was made by a team at the Nobel Institute in Sweden in 1957. However, their results could not be replicated. Later, teams at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia (then the Soviet Union) and at the University of California, Berkeley, both made credible claims of synthesis in the 1960s. After a long dispute, credit was eventually shared between the Dubna and Berkeley laboratories. The name "nobelium" was proposed by the initial Swedish team in honor of Alfred Nobel and, despite the controversy, it was eventually adopted as the official name.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid (presumed) |
| Melting Point | 827 °C / 1521 °F (predicted) |
| Boiling Point | Unknown |
| Electron Configuration | [Rn] 5f¹⁴7s² |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | Essentially zero |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Nobelium is intensely radioactive and extremely hazardous. It has only ever been produced on an atom-by-atom basis in particle accelerators. All work with nobelium is conducted in specialized hot cells with remote manipulators to protect researchers from its lethal radiation.