103Lr Lawrencium
Year Discovered
1961
Discovered By
Albert Ghiorso, Torbjorn Sikkeland, Almon Larsh and Robert Latimer of the USA
Biological Rating
Not necessary for life.
Description
Named after Ernest Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron, lawrencium is a highly radioactive metal. It has never been found naturally and only a few thousand atoms have been produced in laboratories. Its chemistry and appearance are not known with any certainty but should be similar to the other actinides. Lawrencium is too rare to have any commercial or industrial application. The most stable isotope of lawrencium has a half-life of 261 minutes.
Biological Benefits
Lawrencium has no biological use.
Role in Life Processes
No known benefits for life processes in plants and animals.
Sources
Lawrencium is obtained by bombarding californium with boron or bombarding berkelium with oxygen.