Bk Berkelium Element Information: Facts, Properties, Trends, Uses and comparison - Periodic Table of the Elements

Berkelium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with symbol Bk and atomic number 97. It is a member of the actinide and transuranium element series. It is named after the city of Berkeley, California, the location of the University of California Radiation Laboratory where it was discovered in December 1949.

Berkelium Facts

Read key information and facts about element Berkelium

Name	Berkelium
Atomic Number	97
Atomic Symbol	Bk
Atomic Weight	247
Phase	Solid
Color	N/A
Classification	actinide
Group in Periodic Table	N/A
Group Name
Period in Periodic Table	7
Block in Periodic Table	f-block
Electronic Configuration	[Rn] 5f9 7s2
Melting Point	1050 °C
Boiling Point	N/A
Electronic Shell Structure	[2, 8, 18, 32, 27, 8, 2]
CAS Number	CAS7440-40-6

Neighborhood

Lanthanides

Actinide

How to Locate Berkelium on Periodic Table

Periodic table is arranged by atomic number, number of protons in the nucleus which is same as number of electrons. The atomic number increases from left to right. Periodic table starts at top left ( Atomic number 1) and ends at bottom right (atomic number 118). Therefore you can directly look for atomic number 97 to find Berkelium on periodic table.

Another way to read periodic table and locate an element is by using group number (column) and period number (row). To locate Berkelium on periodic table look for cross section of group N/A and period 7 in the modern periodic table.

Atomic & Orbital Properties

Chemical Properties

Isotopes

Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

Databases

Compare Berkelium with other elements

Berkelium History

The element Berkelium was discovered by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in year 1949 in United States . Berkelium derived its name from Berkeley, California, where the element was first synthesized, by analogy with terbium

Berkelium Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us

The table below shows the abundance of Berkelium in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body.

	Ppb by weight (1ppb =10^-7 %)
Abundance in Universe	N/A
Abundance in Sun	None
Abundance in Meteorites	None
Abundance in Earth's Crust	None
Abundance in Oceans	None
Abundance in Humans	None

Crystal Structure of Berkelium

The solid state structure of Berkelium is Simple Hexagonal.

The Crystal structure can be described in terms of its unit Cell. The unit Cells repeats itself in three dimensional space to form the structure.

Unit Cell Parameters

The unit cell is represented in terms of its lattice parameters, which are the lengths of the cell edges Lattice Constants (a, b and c)

a	b	c
341.6	341.6	1106.9 pm

and the angles between them Lattice Angles (alpha, beta and gamma).

alpha	beta	gamma
π/2	π/2	2 π/3

The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( x_i, y_i, z_i) measured from a reference lattice point.

The symmetry properties of the crystal are described by the concept of space groups. All possible symmetric arrangements of particles in three-dimensional space are described by the 230 space groups (219 distinct types, or 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct.

Space Group Name	P63/mmc
Space Group Number	194
Crystal Structure	Simple Hexagonal

Berkelium Atomic and Orbital Properties

Berkelium atoms have 97 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 18, 32, 27, 8, 2] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) ⁶H_15/2.

Atomic Number	97
Number of Electrons (with no charge)	97
Number of Protons	97
Mass Number	247
Number of Neutrons	150
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level)	[2, 8, 18, 32, 27, 8, 2]
Electron Configuration	[Rn] 5f9 7s2
Valence Electrons	5f9 7s2
Oxidation State	3;4
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)	⁶H_15/2

Shell Structure of Berkelium - Electrons per energy level

97 Bk Berkelium - Electron Shell Structure | SchoolMyKids

n		s	p	d	f
1	K	2
2	L	2	6
3	M	2	6	10
4	N	2	6	10	14
5	O	2	6	10	9
6	P	2	6
7	Q	2

Ground State Electronic Configuration of Berkelium - neutral Berkelium atom

The ground state electronic configuration of Neutral Berkelium atom is [Rn] 5f9 7s2. The portion of Berkelium configuration that is equivalent to the noble gas of the preceding period, is abbreviated as [Rn]. For atoms with many electrons, this notation can become lengthy and so an abbreviated notation is used.This is important as it is the Valence electrons 5f9 7s2, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.

Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Berkelium

Complete ground state electronic configuration for the Berkelium atom, Unabbreviated electronic configuration

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 5f9 7s2

Atomic Structure of Berkelium

Berkelium atomic radius is N/A, while it's covalent radius is N/A.

Atomic Radius
Atomic Volume	16.7117726658 cm³
Covalent Radius	N/A
Van der Waals Radius	N/A
Neutron Cross Section	710 σa/barns

Atomic Spectrum of Berkelium

Atomic Spectrum of Berkelium | SchoolMyKids

Berkelium Chemical Properties: Berkelium Ionization Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of Berkelium is N/A

Valence	4
Electronegativity	1.3
ElectronAffinity	N/A

Ionization Energy of Berkelium

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Berkelium

Ionization energy number	Enthalpy - kJ/mol
1	601

Berkelium Physical Properties

Refer to below table for Berkelium Physical Properties

Density	14.78 g/cm3
Molar Volume	16.7117726658 cm3

Elastic Properties

Young Modulus	N/A
Shear Modulus	N/A
Bulk Modulus	N/A
Poisson Ratio	N/A

Hardness of Berkelium - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Mohs Hardness	N/A
Vickers Hardness	N/A
Brinell Hardness	N/A

Berkelium Electrical Properties

Berkelium is N/A of electricity. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties of Berkelium

Electrical Conductivity	N/A
Resistivity	N/A
Superconducting Point	N/A

Berkelium Heat and Conduction Properties

Thermal Conductivity	10 W/(m K)
Thermal Expansion	N/A

Berkelium Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Type	N/A
Curie Point	N/A
Mass Magnetic Susceptibility	N/A
Molar Magnetic Susceptibility	N/A
Volume Magnetic Susceptibility	N/A

Optical Properties of Berkelium

Refractive Index	N/A

Acoustic Properties of Berkelium

Speed of Sound	N/A

Berkelium Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Berkelium

Melting Point	1323 K (1050 °C)
Boiling Point	N/A (N/A)
Critical Temperature	N/A
Superconducting Point	N/A

Enthalpies of Berkelium

Heat of Fusion	N/A
Heat of Vaporization	N/A
Heat of Combustion	{"N/A", "N/A"} J/(kg K)

Berkelium Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Berkelium

Isotopes of rhodium. Naturally occurring Berkelium has 1 stable isotope - None.

Isotope	Isotope Mass	% Abundance	T half	Decay Mode
235Bk
236Bk
237Bk
238Bk
239Bk
240Bk
241Bk
242Bk
243Bk
244Bk
245Bk
246Bk
247Bk
248Bk
249Bk
250Bk
251Bk
252Bk
253Bk
254Bk

Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

CAS Number	CAS7440-40-6
RTECS Number	{N/A, N/A}
DOT Hazard Class	{N/A, N/A}
DOT Numbers	"N/A", "N/A"
EU Number	{N/A, N/A}
NFPA Fire Rating	{N/A, N/A}
NFPA Hazards	N/ A, N/ A
NFPA Health Rating	{N/A, N/A}
NFPA Reactivity Rating	{N/A, N/A}

Autoignition Point	N/A
Flashpoint	N/A

Database Search

List of unique identifiers to search the element in various chemical registry databases

Database	Identifier number
CAS Number - Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)	CAS7440-40-6
CID Number	{CID23971, CID23971}
Gmelin Number	{N/A, N/A}
NSC Number	{N/A, N/A}
RTECS Number	{N/A, N/A}

Compare Berkelium with all Group N/A elements

Berkelium vs Nobelium

Compare Berkelium with all actinide elements

Berkelium vs Actinium Berkelium vs Thorium Berkelium vs Protactinium Berkelium vs Uranium Berkelium vs Neptunium Berkelium vs Plutonium Berkelium vs Americium Berkelium vs Curium Berkelium vs Californium Berkelium vs Einsteinium Berkelium vs Fermium Berkelium vs Mendelevium Berkelium vs Nobelium Berkelium vs Lawrencium