98 Cf 251
Californium
Actinide
Californium (Cf) is a chemical element with atomic number 98, classified as a actinide. At room temperature it is a solid. It was discovered in 1950 by Glenn T. Seaborg et al..
Properties
- Atomic number
- 98
- Atomic mass
- 251 u
- Category
- Actinide
- Group
- 0
- Period
- 7
- Block
- f-block
- Electron configuration
- [Rn] 5f¹⁰ 7s²
- Phase at STP
- Solid
- Density
- 15.1 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1173 K (899.9 °C)
- Boiling point
- 1743 K (1469.8 °C)
- Electronegativity
- 1.3
- Atomic radius
- 245 pm
- Ionization energy
- 6.282 eV
- Discovery
- 1950 · Glenn T. Seaborg et al.
Common uses
Neutron sources, cancer treatment, oil well logging
Did you know?
Extremely expensive neutron source worth millions per gram.
Experiment with the elements
Californium doesn't form any compounds in our lab yet, but the periodic table sandbox lets you combine dozens of other real elements into real compounds — water, table salt, ammonia and many more — with their true chemical formulas.