Nobelium By Daniel O'Neill |
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| Nobelium is an element, with the atomic number of 102.
Little is known about the chemical properties of nobelium. It is part of the transuranium
elements in the actinide series of the periodic table. Its is not found in nature, but
must be created in the laboratory. It was first claimed to be discovered by several groups
working from the U.S., U.K., and Sweden in 1957, however, its first confirmed discovery
occurred at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories in 1958. Nobelium was created by
bombarding curium isotopes with carbon ions. Since it is an actinide, scientists theorize
that is properties resemble the rare earth elements (trivalent, strongly paramagnetic).
Nobelium is known to occur in the isotopes of mass numbers 250-259 as well as 262. The
most stable, nobelium-259, has a half-life of 58 minutes, while the most common,
nobelium-255, has a half-life of a few minutes. There are as yet no known practical uses
for the element nobelium. Nobelium was named after the famous Swedish inventor and chemist Alfred Nobel. Alfred Nobel, while best known for establishing the famous Nobel Prizes in chemistry, peace and a variety of other subjects, also invented several important forms of explosives. He was the first to find a way to safely handle nitroglycerin, by mixing it with an organic packing material. He named his discovery dynamite. Other important explosives developed by Nobel were mines, torpedoes, and ballistite. Ballistite was one of the first smokeless powers, important in the development of firearms. Alfred Nobel was also a shrewd businessman, creating multiple factories to produce explosives for use in both peacetime (for mining) and wartime (bombs, artillery). These factories and business exploits made him financially rich and able to use his time to travel or experiment in one of his many laboratories. It is safe to say that Alfred Nobel is one of the fathers of modern warfare. Although Alfred Nobel contributed significantly to the development of more efficient, deadly, and destructive weapons of war, he was not a violent man. In fact, only developed dynamite so that those who had to handle it, such as miners and demolition experts, would be safer. His own brother’s death in a factory that produced nitroglycerin was what propelled him to his work. Later, he wished his discoveries would not lead to more war and death. Instead, he hoped in vain that his discoveries would make war to costly and the leaders of the world would cease to wage war. He became a rich man from his numerous explosive factories, but his wealth provided him little comfort in his old age. His health grew steadily worse as he aged, and at one point was forced to take advantage of one of the lesser known properties of nitroglycerin, as a heart medicine to cause dilution of blood vessels. He died a sullen man, with most of his family dead (a majority of which died in explosive accidents like the one that killed his brother) racked with guilt from the creation of the deadly weapons his discoveries lead to. In an attempt to atone for this, he left the majority of his estate, some $9 million, to create the Nobel Prizes. My mole character, Nobelium, is a dressed as a soldier. He is |
