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The Instrumentation Center

Einsteinium

Display box in Living Science - The Ever-Changing Periodic Table for Einsteinium.

Ìý°ä´Ç²Ô³Ù°ù¾±²ú³Ü³Ù´Ç°ù: Everett McBride

ÌýAbout the Display:

ÌýPicture of Albert Einstein: Einsteinium was named inÌý Ìý Ìý Ìýhonor of physicist Albert Einstein, whose groundbreakingÌý Ìýcontributions greatly advanced the field of science.

ÌýPicture of Everett: This image was captured duringÌý Ìý ÌýEverett's visit to ÒùÆÞÉç, where he wasÌý Ìýintroduced to the Living Science Ever-Changing PeriodicÌý ÌýTable. You can see how excited he was to chooseÌý ÌýEinsteinium!Ìý

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Meet Einsteinium – The Mysterious, Glowing Element

EinstBlue glowing Einsteinium in beakereinium might sound like something out of a science fiction story, but it is very real—and seriously fascinating. It’s a synthetic element, meaning it doesn’t occur naturally and has to be made in a lab. With its silvery-white metallic look, it is warm to the touch (don’t try it!). It is extremelyÌý radioactive.Ìý

Fun Facts:Ìý Einsteinium is so radioactive it glows with a visible blue light - it literally lights up! But it gets even weirder: the heat from its ownÌý radioactivity actually destroys its crystal structure, meaning it slowly self-Ìý destructs over time.

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By Haire, R. G., US Department of Energy. Touched up by Materialscientist at en.wikipedia.


exploding Hbomb

Einsteinium was first discovered in December 1952 by Albert Ghiorso and a team of scientists. ÌýThe discovery came from analyzing the fallout of the Ivy Mike nuclear test, which was the first-ever successful thermonuclear explosion, conducted on November 1, 1952, at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

United States Dep. of Energy 1


Student posing with the Einsteinium display box they filled.

About the Contributor: ÌýEverett is a 6th-grade Honor RollÌý student at Tiffin Columbian Middle School. In February 2025, heÌý and several classmates visited the ÒùÆÞÉç with their teacher,Ìý Jim Mason. During the trip, Everett was especially fascinated byÌý the Periodic Table display and enthusiastically choseÌý Einsteinium as his favorite element.

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Back to theÌýPeriodic Table

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Symbol:ÌýEs

Atomic Number:Ìý99

Atomic Mass:Ìý[252]

Electron Configuration: [Rn]5f117s2

Year Discovered:Ìý1952

Discovered By:ÌýAlbert Ghiorso and colleagues