Description
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Mendelevium is a synthetic element that is in the actinide family. It is not known what the color is, but it is predicted to be a silver or grey metal in its solid state. Mendelevium is known to be stable in oxidation states, but there is not much else that is known about it. Mendelevium has an atomic weight of 258, a melting point of 1521 °F, and the boiling point is not yet known. There are currently no commercial uses for mendelevium.
Isolation
Mendelevium does not exist free in nature, and it must be synthesized using special equipment and procedures. To date, it can only be synthesized in very small quantities.
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Mendelevium was first synthesized in an isotopic form, number 256, by bombarding an isotope of einsteinium with alpha particles in a cyclotron. The alpha particles are composed of two protons and two neutrons and are identical in structure to the nucleus the element helium. Einsteinium is another synthetic element that can only be produced through complex chemical processes including the irradiation of plutonium. Mendelevium is still produced today by using the bombardment of alpha particles on the element einsteinium. These procedures are extremely expensive and complicated; for these reasons, mendelevium is only produced very infrequently and in extremely tiny quantities. The isotopes of mendelevium do not exist for long periods of time, some last less than 5 minutes, and this also complicates the isolation and research on mendelevium. Mendelevium is a radioactive element; while the toxicity effects of mendelevium is not known, it must still be synthesized and handled with great care.