Fermium facts for kids

Fermium (symbol Fm) is a special chemical element. It has an atomic number of 100, which means it's the 100th element on the periodic table. Fermium isn't found in nature; scientists have to make it. They create it by hitting plutonium with tiny particles called neutrons at very high speeds and temperatures. This element is named after a famous scientist, Enrico Fermi.

History

A team of scientists led by Albert Ghiorso at the University of California, Berkeley first found fermium. They discovered this new element in the dust and debris, called fallout, from the first successful hydrogen bomb test. This huge test happened on November 1, 1952.

In the same fallout, scientists also found another new element called Einsteinium. Because of the Cold War at the time, the US military didn't let the scientists share their discovery right away. They couldn't publish their findings in a scientific journal.

However, the Berkeley team did other studies and published their research in 1954. The original studies about the nuclear fallout were later made public in 1955.

A different group of scientists in Stockholm, Sweden, also found different types of this element, called isotopes, before the Berkeley research was fully published. But most people agree that the Berkeley scientists were the first to truly discover fermium.

Images for kids

• 

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

• 

  The element was named after Enrico Fermi.

• 

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

• 

  Decay pathway of fermium-257

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  A fermium-ytterbium alloy used for measuring the enthalpy of vaporization of fermium metal

See also

In Spanish: Fermio para niños