Atomic number 104
Rutherfordium
Transition metal
No photo: here’s why
Rutherfordium is a synthetic element made only in vanishingly small, intensely radioactive amounts - its atoms decay so quickly that no piece big enough to see or photograph has ever existed.
Quick facts
- Atomic mass
- 267.00
- Group
- 4
- Period
- 7
- State (STP)
- unknown
- Electronegativity
- –
- Common ox. states
- +4
Properties
[Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d² 7s²
- Ionization energy
- –
- Electron affinity
- –
- Melting point
- –
- Boiling point
- –
How dangerous is it?
This element does not exist in nature and has only ever been made a few atoms at a time inside an accelerator, where each atom breaks apart in under a minute.
- RadioactiveImmediate
Every known form is intensely radioactive, but the atoms decay so fast that no usable amount ever piles up.
Studied only by a few specialized labs using remote equipment behind heavy shielding.
How it bonds· family overview
Rutherfordium (Rf) is a synthetic super-heavy element produced one atom at a time. Its position predicts d-block transition-metal chemistry - multiple oxidation states, oxide and halide salts - but only a handful of atoms have ever existed, so the chemistry is largely inferred from group trends.
