Very heavy elements deliver more electrons
Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 09:50
in Physics & Chemistry
Actinides, a series of 15 radioactive elements, are vital to medicine, energy, and national defense. Scientists examined two exceedingly rare actinides, berkelium and californium. These elements are at the extreme end of what is possible to synthesize in more-than-atom amounts for chemical study. These elements are only available in tiniest amounts. The scientists showed that the elements can lose electrons to bond like lighter actinides. Specifically, they found the +5 oxidation state is much more stable than expected, and similar to the stability found for lighter actinides.