berkelium

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: ber=ke=li=um

CIDE DICTIONARY

berkelium, 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.  [WordNet 1.5]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

berkelium, n. Chem. a transuranic radioactive metallic element produced by bombardment of americium.

Usage

Symb.: Bk.

Etymology

mod.L f. Berkeley in California (where first made) + -IUM