Lawrencium facts for kids

Lawrencium is a special chemical element that scientists have created. It has the symbol Lr and its atomic number is 103. It's a radioactive element, which means it gives off energy. You won't find lawrencium in nature; it has to be made in a lab. Scientists usually make it from another element called californium. The longest-lasting type, or isotope, of lawrencium (called ²⁶²Lr) only sticks around for about 3.6 hours before it changes into something else.

We don't know what lawrencium looks like because scientists have only made tiny amounts. These amounts are so small that you can't see them with your eyes. Also, there are no known uses for lawrencium right now. It is a D-block element, found in Group 3 and Period 7 of the periodic table.

Discovery of Lawrencium

Lawrencium was first made in 1961 by a team of scientists in California. This team included Albert Ghiorso and his co-workers. They named the element after Ernest Lawrence. He was the inventor of the cyclotron, a special machine that helps scientists find and create new elements.

Related pages

• Periodic table
• List of common elements

Images for kids

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  Albert Ghiorso updating the periodic table in April 1961, writing the symbol "Lw" in as element 103. Codiscoverers Latimer, Sikkeland, and Larsh (left to right) look on.

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  The element was named after Ernest Lawrence.

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  Elution sequence of the late trivalent lanthanides and actinides, with ammonium α-HIB as eluant: the broken curve for lawrencium is a prediction.

See also

In Spanish: Lawrencio para niños