Rutherfordium
[Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d² 7s² · 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 32 · 10 · 2
The first transactinide — the element where the sixth period of the d-block genuinely begins. Rutherfordium was the first whose chemistry could be studied, confirming that it behaves like hafnium rather than like an actinide.
3D model
Bohr model: nucleus and electron shells from the real configuration. Valence electrons are highlighted.
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Atomic properties
- Atomic number
- 104
- Atomic mass
- 267 а.е.м. ≈
- Electron configuration
- [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d² 7s²
- Electrons per shell
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 32 · 10 · 2
- Block
- d-block
- Group
- Titanium group
- Period
- 7
- Electronegativity (Pauling)
- no data
- Electronegativity (Allen)
- no data
- Atomic radius
- no data
- Covalent radius
- 157 pm
- Van der Waals radius
- no data
- Ionisation energy 1
- 580 kJ/mol ≈
- Electron affinity
- no data
- Common oxidation states
- +4
- Oxidation states
- +4
Physical properties
- State at 25 °C
- solid
- Density
- 17 g/cm³ ≈
- Melting point
- 2 400 K · 2 126.9 °C ≈
- Boiling point
- 5 800 K · 5 526.9 °C ≈
- Speed of sound
- no data
Thermal properties
- Heat of fusion
- no data
- Heat of vaporisation
- no data
- Specific heat capacity
- no data
- Thermal conductivity
- no data
Mechanical properties
- Young's modulus
- no data
- Shear modulus
- no data
- Bulk modulus
- no data
- Poisson ratio
- no data
- Mohs hardness
- no data
- Brinell hardness
- no data
Electrical and magnetic properties
- Electrical resistivity
- no data
- Magnetic ordering
- no data
- Curie point
- no data
- Néel point
- no data
- Superconducting point
- no data
Crystal structure
- Crystal structure
- hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ≈
- Lattice constants
- no data
Abundance
- In the crust
- does not occur
- In the ocean
- does not occur
- In the universe
- does not occur
- In the human body
- does not occur
Isotopes
| Isotope | Abundance | Half-life | Decay mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| 265Rf | — | 1.1 min | СД |
| 267Rf | — | 1.3 h | СД |
Rutherfordium-267, half-life about 1.3 hours, is the longest-lived. Chemistry is done on rutherfordium-261 at 68 seconds.
Discovery
- Year of discovery
- 1964
- Discovered by
- Dubna and Berkeley
- Where
- USSR and USA
- Origin of the name
- after Ernest Rutherford
History
Dubna claimed the synthesis in 1964 and proposed kurchatovium; Berkeley claimed it in 1969 and proposed rutherfordium. The dispute ran for decades, and IUPAC settled on rutherfordium only in 1997.
Where it occurs
Absent from nature.
How it is produced
By nuclear fusion: californium-249 bombarded with carbon-13 ions, or plutonium with neon. It is made one atom at a time.
Role in living things
No biological role.
Safety
Only single atoms are ever handled.
Uses
Fundamental research into superheavy element chemistry
Curiosities
- Rutherfordium was the first element whose chemistry was studied by gas chromatography on single atoms.
- It behaves like hafnium, which confirmed that the table continues correctly past the actinides.
- The Soviet name kurchatovium appeared in Russian textbooks until the late 1990s.
- Ernest Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus and was the first to transmute one element into another.