Isotopes of californium Isotopes of californium Californium (Cf) is an artificial element, and thus a standard atomic weight cannot be given. Like all artificial elements, it has no stable isotopes. The first isotope to be synthesized was Cf in 1950. There are 20 known radioisotopes ranging from Cf to Cf and one nuclear isomer, Cf. The longest-lived isotope is Cf with a half-life of 900 years. Californium-252 (Cf-252) undergoes spontaneous fission and is used in small sized neutron sources. Fission neutrons have an energy range of 0 to 13 MeV with a mean value of 2.3 MeV and a most probable value of
Period 6 element other platinum group metals are employed in fountain pen tips, electrical contacts, and other applications where extreme durability and hardness are needed. Iridium is the chemical element with atomic number 77, and is represented by the symbol Ir. A very hard, brittle, silvery-white transition metal of the platinum family, iridium is the second-densest element (after osmium) and is the most corrosion-resistant metal, even at temperatures as high as 2000 °C. Although only certain molten salts and halogens are corrosive to solid iridium, finely divided iridium dust is much more reactive and can be flammable. Iridium was discovered in 1803 among