Fermium (Fm)
"The Navigator, a hero named after the physicist who achieved the first sustained nuclear chain reaction."
A memorable persona to anchor Fm in your mind.
Synthetic
Grams per cm³
1527
Celsius (°C)
N/A
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Fermium has no everyday connection, discovered in H-bomb debris.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1952
Discovered By
Albert Ghiorso and colleagues
Origin of Name
"Fermium is named after the nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
[257] u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
N/A
Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f127s2
1st Ionization Energy
6.5 eV
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"Fermium is a synthetic, highly radioactive metal."
Did You Know?
Like Einsteinium, it was first discovered in the fallout from the 'Ivy Mike' hydrogen bomb test in 1952.
It is named in honor of Enrico Fermi, one of the pioneers of the atomic age and nuclear physics.
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.
Its most stable isotope has a half-life of about 100 days.