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.
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Fermium is an actinide series transuranium element denoted by the atomic symbol Fm. Its atomic number is 100 and the atomic weight of its most stable isotope is 257. Fermium is a radioactive element which has sixteen known isotopes. It is named for Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist who made great contributions to the study of nuclear reactions.
The first evidence of the existence of fermium was found in the debris produced by the first thermonuclear (fusion) bomb test at Bikini Atoll in 1952. But this information was not published. Meanwhile, fermium was also discovered independently in 1954 by a research team at the Nobel Institute of Physics in Stockholm. The element was produced there by bombarding uranium-238 with oxygen-16 ions.
The longest-lived isotope of the element is fermium-257, with a half life of 80 days. In comparison, the isotope discovered in 1952, fermium-255, had a half life of 20.1 hours. Studies of the element usually involve no more than a few atoms at a time. The chemical properties of fermium remain largely unknown however, they have been investigated in an aqueous medium. Fermium has been used to produce heavier elements such as nobelium.