This Radioactive Element Defies Quantum Theory: Meet Berkelium
Scientists studying those mysterious two rows at the bottom of the periodic table are making breakthroughs, and it's getting weird. Matter Makes Up Everything, So What Makes Up Matter?...
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For anyone who isn’t a chemist, you’ve probably always ignored that weird chunk of the periodic table that floats below the main elements that we have to memorize in school. This chunk, right here.*point to bottom of screen* And that’s probably because we don’t know a lot about these elements. These are the lanthanoids and actinoids, and new research is only just starting to shed light on how bizarre these heavy elements really are, and how little we know about chemistry. All the elements in the periodic table are organized by increasing atomic number, a number that usually corresponds to atomic mass. Beyond mass, elements are also grouped by kind and similar properties. Lanthanoids and actinoids are two distinct groups that are often taken together becau...
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For anyone who isn’t a chemist, you’ve probably always ignored that weird chunk of the periodic table that floats below the main elements that we have to memorize in school. This chunk, right here.*point to bottom of screen* And that’s probably because we don’t know a lot about these elements. These are the lanthanoids and actinoids, and new research is only just starting to shed light on how bizarre these heavy elements really are, and how little we know about chemistry. All the elements in the periodic table are organized by increasing atomic number, a number that usually corresponds to atomic mass. Beyond mass, elements are also grouped by kind and similar properties. Lanthanoids and actinoids are two distinct groups that are often taken together becau...
