Transplutonium

Transplutonium elements are chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 94, which is the atomic number of plutonium. These elements are all synthetic, meaning they do not occur naturally on Earth and must be created in a laboratory. The transplutonium elements are generally radioactive and have very short half-lives, making them difficult to study and produce in significant quantities. They are typically produced by bombarding lighter elements with neutrons in nuclear reactors or by using particle accelerators.

The transplutonium elements are part of the actinide series, following uranium, neptunium, and plutonium. The first transplutonium element discovered was americium, with atomic number 95. Following americium, curium (96), berkelium (97), californium (98), einsteinium (99), fermium (100), mendelevium (101), nobelium (102), and lawrencium (103) were synthesized. Elements beyond lawrencium, such as rutherfordium (104) and onwards, are sometimes classified as transactinides rather than transplutoniums, though the distinction can be fluid. The study of transplutonium elements is important for understanding nuclear physics, the properties of heavy elements, and for potential applications in fields like nuclear medicine and energy.