Mendelevium facts for kids

The element was named after Dmitri Mendeleev.

Mendelevium (pronounced /ˌmɛndəˈlɛviəm/)) is a synthetic element with the symbol Md (used to be Mv) and the atomic number 101. It is a metallic radioactive transuranic element of the actinides. Mendelevium is created by einsteinium and alpha particles forcefully combining and was named after Dmitri Mendeleev, the creator of the Periodic Table.

Images for kids

The 60-inch cyclotron at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, in August 1939
The data sheet, showing stylus tracing and notes, that proved the discovery of mendelevium.
Energy required to promote an f electron to the d subshell for the f-block lanthanides and actinides. Above around 210 kJ/mol, this energy is too high to be provided for by the greater crystal energy of the trivalent state and thus einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium form divalent metals like the lanthanides europium and ytterbium. (Nobelium is also expected to form a divalent metal, but this has not yet been confirmed.)