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.