The element californium is named after the U.S. state of California. This soft, silvery metal does not exist in nature and is made by smashing berkelium atoms with neutrons in a particle accelerator. It is also used in the treatment of cancer.
Summary of properties (Cf)
| Atomic weight | [251] |
| Discoverer (year) | Seaborg, Glenn T. (1950) |
| Natural form | metallic solid (hexagonal) |
| Electron configuration | [Rn] 5f 10 s2 |
| Melting point (ºC) | 900 |
| Boiling point (ºC) | |
| Abundance in earth's crust (ppm) | synthetic |
| Isotope (abundance) | |
| Density g/cm3 | 15.1 |
| Van der Waals radius (pm) | 245 |
| Covalent radius (pm) | 168 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 1.3 |
| Vaporization enthalpy (kJ/mol) | 196.00 |
| Enthalpy of fusion (kJ/mol) | - |
| Specific heat capacity (J/g·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | - |
| Thermal conductivity (W/cm·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | - |
| Oxidation state | +3 |
| Electron affinity (eV) | |
| 1st Ionization potential (eV) | 6.2817 |
