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periodicity.
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Periodic table
Period 7Actinides
98Solid
Cf 251 Atomic mass · u
Actinides

Californium

Californium is a radioactive metallic chemical element with symbol Cf and atomic number 98. The element was first made in 1950 at the University of California Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, by bombarding curium with alpha particles (helium-4 ions). It is an actinide element, the sixth transuranium element to be synthesized, and has the second-highest atomic mass of all the elements that have been produced in amounts large enough to see with the unaided eye (after einsteinium).

Discovery 1950 (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
Californium electron shellsCf98 protons
K2L8M18N32O28P8Q2
A simplified shell model. Electron positions are illustrative.

Physical properties

Values for the element in its standard state.

Density
15.1g/cm³
Melting point
1,173K
Boiling point
Not available
Atomic radius
Not available
Bonding type
Metallic
Molar heat
Not available

Inside the atom

Electron arrangement and the energy behind its behavior.

Full electron configuration

1s, 2 electrons; 2s, 2 electrons; 2p, 6 electrons; 3s, 2 electrons; 3p, 6 electrons; 3d, 10 electrons; 4s, 2 electrons; 4p, 6 electrons; 4d, 10 electrons; 5s, 2 electrons; 5p, 6 electrons; 4f, 14 electrons; 5d, 10 electrons; 6s, 2 electrons; 6p, 6 electrons; 5f, 10 electrons; 7s, 2 electrons;

[Rn] represents 86 core electrons. The full view shows them explicitly.

98 electrons Orbital order preserved from source

Electronegativity
1.3Pauling scale
First ionization energy
608kJ/mol
Electron affinity
Not available
Van der Waals radius
Not available
Cf CaliforniumAtomic number 98
608kJ/mol
Ionization energy by atomic number
Atomic numberGaps indicate unavailable data

About californium

Appearance
Silvery
Discovery
1950 (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

A missing value means it is unavailable in this reference dataset. Values can vary with measurement method and conditions.