Fermium (Fm) Fun Facts

100 Fm
Superhero Identity

"The Navigator, a hero named after the physicist who achieved the first sustained nuclear chain reaction."

The true essence of Fermium (Fm) on the molecular frontier.

Appearance

Fermium is a synthetic, highly radioactive metal.

Everyday Connection

Fermium has no everyday connection, discovered in H-bomb debris.

In Pop Culture

Fermium is the heaviest element that can be formed by neutron bombardment.

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Did You Know?

1

Like Einsteinium, it was first discovered in the fallout from the 'Ivy Mike' hydrogen bomb test in 1952.

2

It is named in honor of Enrico Fermi, one of the pioneers of the atomic age and nuclear physics.

3

Fermium is the heaviest element that can be created by bombarding lighter elements with neutrons in a nuclear reactor; all heavier elements must be made in particle accelerators.

4

Its most stable isotope has a half-life of about 100 days.

5

So little fermium has ever been produced that its chemical properties are not well known.