Americium

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Americium
243



  Am
95
1s22s22p63s23p63d104s24p6 4d105s25p64f145d106s26p65f77s2
[ ? ] Transuranic element:
Properties:
Silvery-white metal.
Hazard:
Radioactive


Americium is a chemical element, having the chemical symbol Am. Its atomic number (the number of protons) is 95. It has a standard atomic weight of 243 g•mol −1 and it is a solid in its elemental form.

Americium is considered a member of the "Transuranic" class of elements. At a pressure of 101.325 kPa, it has a boiling point of 2,011 °C and a melting point of 1,176 °C.

Americium was the fourth transuranic element to be identified. It was discovered by Glenn T Seeborg at the wartime (World War II) metallurgical laboratory of the University of Chicago in 1944.[1] The Plutonium isotopes Pu-241 and Pu-243 undergo β− decay transforming into isotopes of Americium.

References

  1. Americium From the website of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)