Rutherfordium (Rf)
"Meet the 'Fleeting Phantom of Fission!' This super-heavy, super-speedy particle appears only for a fraction of a second, leaving a dazzling trail of nuclear intrigue and proving that even the briefest existences can shake up the periodic table."
A memorable persona to anchor Rf in your mind.
23.2
Grams per cm³
N/A
Celsius (°C)
N/A
Radius (pm)
Daily Life Link
Imagine a super-rare, exotic ingredient in a top-secret recipe – created only in the most advanced labs, never found in nature.
Discovery & History
Year Discovered
1964
Discovered By
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR)
Origin of Name
"Rutherfordium is named in honour of New Zealand Chemist Ernest Rutherford, one of the first to explain the structure of atoms."
Technical Properties
Atomic Mass
[267] u
Standard State
solid
Boiling Point
N/A
Electron Configuration
[Rn] 5f146d27s2
1st Ionization Energy
N/A
Electron Affinity
N/A
Oxidation States
"A phantom element, it's far too fleeting and radioactive to ever truly be seen, held, or even form a visible speck."
Did You Know?
You won't find it in nature! Rutherfordium is a synthetic element, meaning scientists create it in powerful particle accelerators by smashing smaller atoms together.
Named after a legend! This element honors Ernest Rutherford, often called the 'father of nuclear physics,' who famously discovered the atomic nucleus.
Talk about living life in the fast lane! The longest-lived Rutherfordium isotope (Rf-267) has a half-life of only about 1.3 hours. Many others vanish in milliseconds or microseconds!
It's a heavyweight champion, clocking in at atomic number 104, placing it firmly in the 'superheavy' element category.