The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
Berkelium is a transuranic element, with an atomic number of 97 and an atomic mass of 274.0703. Its chemical symbol is Bk. Berkelium is also classified as an actinide element, one of the elements that makes up Row 7 of the periodic table.
Berkelium exists in such small quantities that very little is known about its properties. Its melting point is estimated to be about 1,810°F (986°C). Two allotropes of the element are known with densities of 13.25 and 14.78 grams per cubic centimeter. All known isotopes of berkelium are radioactive, with the longest-lived being berkelium-247, with a half life of 1,380 years.
Berkelium has not been found in the Earth's crust. It is produced artificially by bombarding other transuranic elements in a particle accelerator.
Berkelium was discovered in 1949 by a team of researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). The UCB team was analyzing reactions that occur when very heavy atoms are bombarded with alpha particles. When americium was used as a target in this research, evidence for the formation of a new element was obtained. The UCB research team selected the name berkelium for the new element in honor of the city in which the research was done.
There are no commercial uses for berkelium, although it is sometimes used in research projects.