Cf - Californium

98
Cf
Californium

Californium Element Information, Facts, Properties, Trends, Uses, Comparison with other elements

Element 98 of Periodic table is Californium with atomic number 98, atomic weight 251. Californium, symbol Cf, has a Simple Hexagonal structure and color. Californium is a Actinide element. It is part of group null (). Know everything about Californium Facts, Physical Properties, Chemical Properties, Electronic configuration, Atomic and Crystal Structure.
98 Cf - Californium | SchoolMyKids

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).

It belongs to group null of the periodic table having trivial name . You can also download Printable Periodic Table of Elements Flashcards for Californium in a PDF format.

Californium Facts

Read key information and facts about element Californium

NameCalifornium
Atomic Number98
Atomic SymbolCf
Atomic Weight251
PhaseSolid
Color-
Appearancesilvery
ClassificationActinide
Natural OccuranceSynthetic
Group in Periodic Table-
Group Name
Period in Periodic Tableperiod 7
Block in Periodic Tablef-block
Electronic Configuration[Rn] 5f10 7s2
Electronic Shell Structure (Electrons per shell)2, 8, 18, 32, 28, 8, 2
Melting Point1173 K
Boiling Point-
CAS NumberCAS7440-71-3
Neighborhood Elements
123456789101112131415161718
1
1
H
Hydrogen
1.008

Atomic #

Electronic Shell #

Symbol
Name
Atomic Weight
HGas
HgLiquid
CSolid
Metals
Metalloids
NonMetals
Alkali metals
Alkali earth metals
Lanthanoids
Transition metals
Post-transition metals
Other nonmetals
Halogens
Nobel gas
Actinoids
2
He
Helium
4.003
2
3
Li
Lithium
6.941
4
Be
Beryllium
9.012
5
B
Boron
10.811
6
C
Carbon
12.011
7
N
Nitrogen
14.007
8
O
Oxygen
15.999
9
F
Fluorine
18.998
10
Ne
Neon
20.180
3
11
Na
Sodium
22.990
12
Mg
Magnesium
24.305
13
Al
Aluminium
26.982
14
Si
Silicon
28.085
15
P
Phosphorus
30.974
16
S
Sulfur
32.065
17
Cl
Chlorine
35.453
18
Ar
Argon
39.948
4
19
K
Potassium
39.098
20
Ca
Calcium
40.078
21
Sc
Scandium
44.956
22
Ti
Titanium
47.867
23
V
Vanadium
50.941
24
Cr
Chromium
51.996
25
Mn
Manganese
54.938
26
Fe
Iron
55.845
27
Co
Cobalt
58.933
28
Ni
Nickel
58.693
29
Cu
Copper
63.546
30
Zn
Zinc
65.409
31
Ga
Gallium
69.723
32
Ge
Germanium
72.640
33
As
Arsenic
74.922
34
Se
Selenium
78.960
35
Br
Bromine
79.904
36
Kr
Krypton
83.798
5
37
Rb
Rubidium
85.468
38
Sr
Strontium
87.620
39
Y
Yttrium
88.906
40
Zr
Zirconium
91.224
41
Nb
Niobium
92.906
42
Mo
Molybdenum
95.940
43
Tc
Technetium
98
44
Ru
Ruthenium
101.070
45
Rh
Rhodium
102.906
46
Pd
Palladium
106.420
47
Ag
Silver
107.868
48
Cd
Cadmium
112.411
49
In
Indium
114.818
50
Sn
Tin
118.710
51
Sb
Antimony
121.760
52
Te
Tellurium
127.600
53
I
Iodine
126.904
54
Xe
Xenon
131.293
6
55
Cs
Cesium
132.905
56
Ba
Barium
137.327
57 - 71
La - Lu
Lanthanides
72
Hf
Hafnium
178.490
73
Ta
Tantalum
180.948
74
W
Tungsten
183.840
75
Re
Rhenium
186.207
76
Os
Osmium
190.230
77
Ir
Iridium
192.217
78
Pt
Platinum
195.078
79
Au
Gold
196.967
80
Hg
Mercury
200.590
81
Tl
Thallium
204.383
82
Pb
Lead
207.200
83
Bi
Bismuth
208.980
84
Po
Polonium
209
85
At
Astatine
210
86
Rn
Radon
222
7
87
Fr
Francium
223
88
Ra
Radium
226
89 - 103
Ac - Lr
Actinides
104
Rf
Rutherfordium
261
105
Db
Dubnium
262
106
Sg
Seaborgium
266
107
Bh
Bohrium
264
108
Hs
Hassium
269
109
Mt
Meitnerium
268
110
Ds
Darmstadtium
281
111
Rg
Roentgenium
272
112
Cn
Copernicium
285
113
Nh
Nihonium
284
114
Fl
Flerovium
289
115
Mc
Moscovium
288
116
Lv
Livermorium
292
117
Ts
Tennessine
294
118
Og
Oganesson
294
Lanthanides
57
La
Lanthanum
138.905
58
Ce
Cerium
140.116
59
Pr
Praseodymium
140.908
60
Nd
Neodymium
144.240
61
Pm
Promethium
145
62
Sm
Samarium
150.360
63
Eu
Europium
151.964
64
Gd
Gadolinium
157.250
65
Tb
Terbium
158.925
66
Dy
Dysprosium
162.500
67
Ho
Holmium
164.930
68
Er
Erbium
167.259
69
Tm
Thulium
168.934
70
Yb
Ytterbium
173.040
71
Lu
Lutetium
174.967
Actinides
89
Ac
Actinium
227
90
Th
Thorium
232.038
91
Pa
Protactinium
231.036
92
U
Uranium
238.029
93
Np
Neptunium
237
94
Pu
Plutonium
244
95
Am
Americium
243
96
Cm
Curium
247
97
Bk
Berkelium
247
98
Cf
Californium
251
99
Es
Einsteinium
252
100
Fm
Fermium
257
101
Md
Mendelevium
258
102
No
Nobelium
259
103
Lr
Lawrencium
262

How to Locate Californium 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 98 to find Californium 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 Californium on periodic table look for cross section of group - and period 7 in the modern periodic table.

Californium History

The element Californium was discovered by S. G. Thompson,K. Street, Jr., A. Ghiorso and G. T. Seaborg(University of California, Berkeley) in year 1950 in United States. Californium was first isolated by in . Californium derived its name from California, where the element was first synthesized.

Discovered By S. G. Thompson,K. Street, Jr., A. Ghiorso and G. T. Seaborg(University of California, Berkeley)
Discovery Date 1950 in United States
First Isolation
Isolated by

Bombardment of curium with alpha particles.

Californium Uses

Californium is a strong neutron emitter. It is used in metal detectors for silver and gold. It also can be used to identify oil layers underground and detect metal fatigue in aerospace applications.

Californium Presence: Abundance in Nature and Around Us

As Californium is a Synthetic element, the abundance of Californium in Universe, Sun, Meteorites, Earth's Crust, Oceans and Human Body in either not known or they have a very short half life.

Crystal Structure of Californium

The solid state structure of Californium 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)

abc
338 pm338 pm1102.5 pm

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

alphabetagamma
π/2 π/2 2 π/3

The positions of the atoms inside the unit cell are described by the set of atomic positions ( xi, yi, zi) 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 NameP63/mmc
Space Group Number194
Crystal StructureSimple Hexagonal
Number of atoms per unit cell
98 Cf Californium - Crystal Structure | SchoolMyKids

The number of atoms per unit cell in a simple cubic, face-centered cubic and body-centred cubic are 1,4,2 respectively.

Californium Atomic and Orbital Properties

Californium atoms have 98 electrons and the electronic shell structure is [2, 8, 18, 32, 28, 8, 2] with Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers) 5I8.

Atomic Number98
Number of Electrons (with no charge)98
Number of Protons98
Mass Number251
Number of Neutrons153
Shell structure (Electrons per energy level)2, 8, 18, 32, 28, 8, 2
Electron Configuration[Rn] 5f10 7s2
Valence Electrons5f10 7s2
Valence (Valency)4
Main Oxidation States3
Oxidation States2, 3, 4, 5
Atomic Term Symbol (Quantum Numbers)5I8

Bohr Atomic Model of Californium - Electrons per energy level

98 Cf Californium Electron Shell Structure | SchoolMyKids
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Ground State Electronic Configuration of Californium - neutral Californium atom

Abbreviated electronic configuration of Californium

The ground state abbreviated electronic configuration of Neutral Californium atom is [Rn] 5f10 7s2. The portion of Californium 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 5f10 7s2, electrons in the outermost shell that determine the chemical properties of the element.

Unabbreviated electronic configuration of neutral Californium

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

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 5f10 7s2

Electrons are filled in atomic orbitals as per the order determined by the Aufbau principle, Pauli Exclusion Principle and Hund’s Rule.

As per the Aufbau principle the electrons will occupy the orbitals having lower energies before occupying higher energy orbitals. According to this principle, electrons are filled in the following order: 1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p, 4s, 3d, 4p, 5s, 4d, 5p, 6s, 4f, 5d, 6p, 7s, 5f, 6d, 7p…

The Pauli exclusion principle states that a maximum of two electrons, each having opposite spins, can fit in an orbital.

Hund's rule states that every orbital in a given subshell is singly occupied by electrons before a second electron is filled in an orbital.

Electron configuration of Californium

Atomic Structure of Californium

Californium atomic radius is -, while it's covalent radius is -.

Atomic Radius Calculated-
Atomic Radius Empirical-
Atomic Volume16.5 cm3/mol
Covalent Radius-
Van der Waals Radius-
Neutron Cross Section2900
Neutron Mass Absorption -

Spectral Lines of Californium - Atomic Spectrum of Californium

A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from an excess or deficiency of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to identify atoms and molecules.

Spectral lines are the result of interaction between a quantum system and a single photon. A spectral line may be observed either as an emission line or an absorption line.

Spectral lines are highly atom-specific, and can be used to identify the chemical composition of any medium. Several elements, including helium, thallium, and caesium, were discovered by spectroscopic means. They are widely used to determine the physical conditions of stars and other celestial bodies that cannot be analyzed by other means.

Emission spectrum of Californium

Emission Spectrum of Californium | SchoolMyKids

Absorption spectrum of Californium

Absorption Spectrum of Californium | SchoolMyKids

Californium Chemical Properties: Californium Ionization Energies and electron affinity

The electron affinity of Californium is -.

Valence4
Electronegativity1.3
ElectronAffinity-

Ionization Energy of Californium

Ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove an electron from an atom or molecule.in chemistry, this energy is expresed in kilocalories per mole (kcal/mol) or kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol).

Refer to table below for Ionization energies of Californium

Ionization energy numberEnthalpy - kJ/mol
1st608

Californium Physical Properties

Refer to below table for Californium Physical Properties

Density15.1 g/cm3
Molar Volume16.5 cm3/mol

Elastic Properties

Young Modulus-
Shear Modulus-
Bulk Modulus -
Poisson Ratio-

Hardness of Californium - Tests to Measure of Hardness of Element

Mohs Hardness-
Vickers Hardness-
Brinell Hardness-

Californium Electrical Properties

Electrical resistivity measures element's electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current.The SI unit of electrical resistivity is the ohm-metre (Ω⋅m). While Electrical conductivity is the reciprocal of electrical resistivity. It represents a element's ability to conduct electric current. The SI unit of electrical conductivity is siemens per metre (S/m).

Californium is a -. Refer to table below for the Electrical properties of Californium

Electrical conductors -
Electrical Conductivity-
Resistivity-
Superconducting Point-

Californium Heat and Conduction Properties

Thermal Conductivity-
Thermal Expansion-

Californium Magnetic Properties

Magnetic Type-
Curie Point-
Mass Magnetic Susceptibility-
Molar Magnetic Susceptibility-
Volume Magnetic Susceptibility-

Optical Properties of Californium

Refractive Index-

Acoustic Properties of Californium

Speed of Sound-

Californium Thermal Properties - Enthalpies and thermodynamics

Refer to table below for Thermal properties of Californium

Melting Point1173 K(899.85 °C, 1651.730 °F)
Boiling Point-
Critical Temperature-
Superconducting Point-

Enthalpies of Californium

Heat of Fusion-
Heat of Vaporization-
Heat of Combustion-

Californium Isotopes - Nuclear Properties of Californium

Californium has 20 isotopes, with between 237 and 256 nucleons. Californium has 0 stable naturally occuring isotopes.

Isotopes of Californium - Naturally occurring stable Isotopes: -.

IsotopeZNIsotope Mass% AbundanceT halfDecay Mode
237Cf98139237Synthetic
238Cf98140238Synthetic
239Cf98141239Synthetic
240Cf98142240Synthetic
241Cf98143241Synthetic
242Cf98144242Synthetic
243Cf98145243Synthetic
244Cf98146244Synthetic
245Cf98147245Synthetic
246Cf98148246Synthetic
247Cf98149247Synthetic
248Cf98150248Synthetic
249Cf98151249Synthetic
250Cf98152250Synthetic
251Cf98153251Synthetic900.6 yearsAlphaEmission
252Cf98154252Synthetic
253Cf98155253Synthetic
254Cf98156254Synthetic
255Cf98157255Synthetic
256Cf98158256Synthetic

Regulatory and Health - Health and Safety Parameters and Guidelines

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) identifies hazard class of all dangerous elements/goods/commodities either by its class (or division) number or name. The DOT has divided these materials into nine different categories, known as Hazard Classes.

NFPA 704 is a Standard System for the Identification of the Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response. NFPA is a standard maintained by the US based National Fire Protection Association.

The health (blue), flammability (red), and reactivity (yellow) rating all use a numbering scale ranging from 0 to 4. A value of zero means that the element poses no hazard; a rating of four indicates extreme danger.

Autoignition Point-
Flashpoint-

Database Search

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

DatabaseIdentifier number
CAS Number - Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)CAS7440-71-3
RTECS Number-
CID Number -
Gmelin Number-
NSC Number-

Compare Californium with other elements

Compare Californium with Group , Period 7 and Actinide elements of the periodic table.

Compare Californium with all Group elements

Compare Californium with all Period 7 elements

Compare Californium with all Actinide elements

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Californium

The electronic configuration of Californium is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 5f10 7s2.

The abbreviated electronic configuration of Californium is [Rn] 5f10 7s2. To form abbreviated notation of electronic configuration, the completely filled subshells are replaced by the noble gas of the preceding period in square brackets.

Symbol of Californium is Cf. Californium is a chemical element with symbol Cf and atomic number 98.

Californium is a chemical element with the symbol Cf and atomic number 98. Californium is the 98 element on the periodic table. It is located in group null and period 7 in the modern periodic table.

The atomic number of Californium is 98.

Californium is of color.

The element Californium was discovered by S. G. Thompson,K. Street, Jr., A. Ghiorso and G. T. Seaborg(University of California, Berkeley) in year 1950 in United States. Californium was first isolated by undefined in undefined.

Californium has 4 valence electrons. Californium has 98 electrons out of which 4 valence electrons are present in the 5f10 7s2 outer orbitals of atom.

Melting Point of Californium is 1173 K.

Boiling Point of Californium is Unknown.

Melting Point of Californium in Kelvin is 1173 K.

Boiling Point of Californium in Kelvin is Unknown.

Melting Point of Californium in Celsius is 899.85 °C.

Boiling Point of Californium in Celsius is Unknown.

Melting Point of Californium in Fahrenheit is 1651.73 °F.

Boiling Point of Californium in Fahrenheit is Unknown.

The electronic configuration of Californium will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 5f10 7s2.

The electronic configuration of Californium will be 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2 6p6 5f10 7s2.