'berkelium' definitions:
Definition of 'berkelium'
(from WordNet)
noun
A radioactive transuranic element; discovered by bombarding americium with helium [syn: berkelium, Bk, atomic number 97]
Definition of 'berkelium'
From: GCIDE
- berkelium \ber*ke"li*um\ (b[~e]r*k[=e]"l[-e]*[u^]m), n. [from the city of Berkeley, California, location of the University of California campus where it was discovered.] a chemical element of the transuranic series. Chemical symbol Bk; atomic number 97; atomic weight 247. It is a radioactive element, with no stable isotopes; the longest-lived isotope is of mass number 247.07, decaying by alpha-emission with a half-life of 1,400 years. The isotope with atomic weight 249 has a half-life of 314 days, and was isolated in weighable quantities.
- Syn: Bk. [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
Definition of 'berkelium'
From: Elements
- Symbol: Bk
- Atomic number: 97
- Atomic weight: (247)
- Radioactive metallic transuranic element. Belongs to actinoid series. Eight known isotopes, the most common Bk-247, has a half-life of 1.4*10^3 years. First produced by Glenn T. Seaborg and associates in 1949 by bombarding americium-241 with alpha particles.