Berkelium

Berkelium was first discovered by Stanley Thompson, Albert Ghiorso and Glenn Seaborg in 1949. It was named after Berkeley, California where it was discovered. It was created by bombarding americium and was separated and identified by high temp ion-exchange columns. It is only produced in small amounts at labs by nuclear reactions.

The metal itself is silvery-white and is very radioactive- but it deteriorates slowly in air. This is thought to happen because of a thin protective oxide layer that is automatically formed. It is currently only used in scientific experiments and research.