Einsteinium (Es)
| Atomic Number | 99 |
|---|---|
| Atomic Mass | 252 u |
| Category | Actinide |
| Electron Config | [Rn] 5f¹¹ 7s² |
| Appearance | silver-colored |
| Melting Point | 1133 K |
| Boiling Point | 1269 K |
| Electronegativity | 1.3 (Pauling) |
| Ionization Energy | 619 kJ/mol |
| Crystal Structure | Face-centered Cubic (predicted) |
| Discovered By | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1952) |
Brief Introduction
Einsteinium (Es) is a silvery, radioactive actinide metal. It is extremely rare and difficult to study. Key details about Einsteinium (Es) are as follows:
Uses: No practical applications. Used only in scientific research to study the properties of heavy elements and to produce heavier elements.
Production/Extraction: Produced by bombarding plutonium or californium with neutrons in nuclear reactors. Only produced in microgram quantities. Extremely difficult to isolate.
History: Discovered in 1952 in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb test (Ivy Mike) by Albert Ghiorso and colleagues. Named after Albert Einstein.
Health Effects & Safety: Highly radioactive. Limited data on specific toxicity due to extreme rarity, but assumed to be highly dangerous. Requires strict containment.
Price/Market: Not commercially available. Produced only for research in specialized facilities.
Properties: Radioactive, silvery metallic appearance (predicted), most common isotope Es-253 has half-life of 20.5 days, melting point around 860°C.
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