Einsteinium facts for kids

Einsteinium is a chemical element with the atomic number 99. That means an Einsteinium atom has 99 protons and 99 electrons. It is a synthetic element, so all isotopes are radioactive.

Einsteinium belongs to the actinoids, and it is the 7th of them. The most stable isotope of Einsteinium has 99 protons and electrons and 153 neutrons. There are 19 different (radioactive) isotopes. Einsteinium is named after Albert Einstein. It was found for the first time in 1952 by Albert Ghiorso and his team of scientists in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb explosion, and identified as an element at the University of California, Berkeley.

Einsteinium isotopes have a half-life between 40 and 471 days. Einsteinium has been used to create the element Mendelevium for the first time, in 1955, although no practical uses are known.

Images for kids

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  Einsteinium was first observed in the fallout from the Ivy Mike nuclear test.

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  The element was discovered by a team headed by Albert Ghiorso.

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  The element was named after Albert Einstein.

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  Glow due to the intense radiation from ~300 µg of 253Es.

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  Early evolution of einsteinium production in the U.S.

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  Estimated yield of transuranium elements in the U.S. nuclear tests Hutch and Cyclamen.

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  Elution curves: chromatographic separation of Fm(100), Es(99), Cf, Bk, Cm and Am

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  Einsteinium(III) iodide glowing in the dark