Lawrencium

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Lawrencium is a synthetic element that is in the actinide family. It is predicted to have a silvery white or metallic grey color, and it is predicted to be a solid although that information has not been confirmed. Not much is known about the chemical properties of lawrencium, and further studies are hindered from its toxic radiation characteristics. Lawrencium has an atomic weight of 262, a melting point of 2961 °F, and the boiling point is not yet known. There are no current commercial uses of lawrencium.

Lawrencium does not occur in nature in any form. It must be synthesized artificially using complex materials under supervised conditions.

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The first synthesis of lawrencium was carried out by using californium and boron ions. The synthesis occurred in a heavy ion linear accelerator and involved bombarding a target that included three californium isotopes in addition to two boron isotopes. In this process, the nuclei of the isotopes became charged with electricity, recoiled using a helium atmosphere, and were then collected on a conveyor tape composed of copper. Solid-state detectors were then used to collect the atoms after the tape was moved. An alpha particle with a 4.2 second half life was named lawrencium. Today, atomic bombardment of the californium element is used to produce some amounts of lawrencium. Lawrencium production is very expensive and can only be produced in such tiny amounts that it is difficult to study the chemical characteristics and structure of this element. Lawrencium is also known to be extremely radioactive, and if it were produced in significant quantities it would pose serious environmental and health hazards.