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100Fm[257]
Actinidessolid at STPF-block

Fermium

Group: f-block•Period: 7•Standard Atomic Weight: [257] u
Open Full Periodic TableView Bohr Model

Why is Fermium in this position?

Understanding the scientific rationale behind Fermium's position in the periodic table:

Group Assignment
Group Lanthanide / Actinide

Actinide series element filling the 5f subshell.

Period Assignment
Period 7

Belongs to Period 7 because its outermost electrons occupy n=7.

Orbital Block
F-block

Belongs to the f-block because valence electrons fill 5f orbitals (5f¹² 7s²).

Chemical Category
Actinides

Classified as an actinide synthetic transuranic metal.

Atomic Structure & Bohr Shell Model

Shell Distribution: [2, 8, 18, 32, 30, 8, 2]

Bohr Atomic Shell Model(2, 8, 18, 32, 30, 8, 2)

Hover or tap any shell orbit ring to inspect electron counts and 2n² capacities.

100 Protons (p⁺)157 Neutrons (n⁰)
KShell K: Electron 1 of 2Shell K: Electron 2 of 2LShell L: Electron 1 of 8Shell L: Electron 2 of 8Shell L: Electron 3 of 8Shell L: Electron 4 of 8Shell L: Electron 5 of 8Shell L: Electron 6 of 8Shell L: Electron 7 of 8Shell L: Electron 8 of 8MShell M: Electron 1 of 18Shell M: Electron 2 of 18Shell M: Electron 3 of 18Shell M: Electron 4 of 18Shell M: Electron 5 of 18Shell M: Electron 6 of 18Shell M: Electron 7 of 18Shell M: Electron 8 of 18Shell M: Electron 9 of 18Shell M: Electron 10 of 18Shell M: Electron 11 of 18Shell M: Electron 12 of 18Shell M: Electron 13 of 18Shell M: Electron 14 of 18Shell M: Electron 15 of 18Shell M: Electron 16 of 18Shell M: Electron 17 of 18Shell M: Electron 18 of 18NShell N: Electron 1 of 32Shell N: Electron 2 of 32Shell N: Electron 3 of 32Shell N: Electron 4 of 32Shell N: Electron 5 of 32Shell N: Electron 6 of 32Shell N: Electron 7 of 32Shell N: Electron 8 of 32Shell N: Electron 9 of 32Shell N: Electron 10 of 32Shell N: Electron 11 of 32Shell N: Electron 12 of 32Shell N: Electron 13 of 32Shell N: Electron 14 of 32Shell N: Electron 15 of 32Shell N: Electron 16 of 32Shell N: Electron 17 of 32Shell N: Electron 18 of 32Shell N: Electron 19 of 32Shell N: Electron 20 of 32Shell N: Electron 21 of 32Shell N: Electron 22 of 32Shell N: Electron 23 of 32Shell N: Electron 24 of 32Shell N: Electron 25 of 32Shell N: Electron 26 of 32Shell N: Electron 27 of 32Shell N: Electron 28 of 32Shell N: Electron 29 of 32Shell N: Electron 30 of 32Shell N: Electron 31 of 32Shell N: Electron 32 of 32OShell O: Electron 1 of 30Shell O: Electron 2 of 30Shell O: Electron 3 of 30Shell O: Electron 4 of 30Shell O: Electron 5 of 30Shell O: Electron 6 of 30Shell O: Electron 7 of 30Shell O: Electron 8 of 30Shell O: Electron 9 of 30Shell O: Electron 10 of 30Shell O: Electron 11 of 30Shell O: Electron 12 of 30Shell O: Electron 13 of 30Shell O: Electron 14 of 30Shell O: Electron 15 of 30Shell O: Electron 16 of 30Shell O: Electron 17 of 30Shell O: Electron 18 of 30Shell O: Electron 19 of 30Shell O: Electron 20 of 30Shell O: Electron 21 of 30Shell O: Electron 22 of 30Shell O: Electron 23 of 30Shell O: Electron 24 of 30Shell O: Electron 25 of 30Shell O: Electron 26 of 30Shell O: Electron 27 of 30Shell O: Electron 28 of 30Shell O: Electron 29 of 30Shell O: Electron 30 of 30PShell P: Electron 1 of 8Shell P: Electron 2 of 8Shell P: Electron 3 of 8Shell P: Electron 4 of 8Shell P: Electron 5 of 8Shell P: Electron 6 of 8Shell P: Electron 7 of 8Shell P: Electron 8 of 8QShell Q: Electron 1 of 2Shell Q: Electron 2 of 2FmZ = 100

Educational Note: This Niels Bohr planetary model visually illustrates principal quantum energy shells ($n=1, 2, 3\dots$) and electron counts. In modern quantum mechanics (Schrödinger model), electrons do not orbit in fixed circular planetary tracks, but exist as 3D probability clouds (orbitals: $s, p, d, f$) governed by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.

Electron Shell Filling Breakdown

Shell K (n=1):2 / 2 electrons (100%)
Shell L (n=2):8 / 8 electrons (100%)
Shell M (n=3):18 / 18 electrons (100%)
Shell N (n=4):32 / 32 electrons (100%)
Shell O (n=5):30 / 50 electrons (60%)
Shell P (n=6):8 / 72 electrons (11%)
Shell Q (n=7):2 / 98 electrons (2%)
Aufbau Electron Configuration
1s² 2s² 2p⁶ 3s² 3p⁶ 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶ 4d¹⁰ 4f¹⁴ 5s² 5p⁶ 5d¹⁰ 5f¹² 6s² 6p⁶ 7s²

Neutral ground state configuration. Valence electrons: 14.

Atomic & Quantum Properties

Electronegativity (Pauling)1.3 Pauling
1st Ionization Energy627 kJ/mol
Electron Affinity-43 kJ/mol
Atomic Radius (empirical)167 pm
Common Oxidation States+3
Crystal StructureFCC

Physical & Thermal Properties

Density at STP9.7 g/cm³ (estimated)
Melting Point1527 °C (1800 K)
Boiling Point1800 °C (2073 K)
Magnetic OrderingParamagnetic
Discovery Year1952
Discovered ByAlbert Ghiorso and team at UC Berkeley / Argonne / Los Alamos

Real-World Uses, Occurrence & Compounds

Major Industrial & Everyday Uses
  • Pure scientific nuclear physics research on spontaneous nuclear fission
Occurrence in Nature

Synthesized in picogram quantities in high-flux nuclear reactors; zero natural occurrence.

Etymology & Name Origin

Named in honor of Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, creator of the first nuclear reactor

Important Chemical Compounds
FmCl₃ (Fermium trichloride, tracer amounts)
Interesting Chemical Facts
  • • Fermium-257 represents the absolute end of the line for nuclear reactor synthesis: capturing another neutron triggers instantaneous spontaneous fission, making Fermium the heaviest element producible via neutron capture.
  • • Named after Enrico Fermi, who designed the Chicago Pile-1 reactor in 1942.
  • • Only a few micrograms of fermium have ever been synthesized in the entire history of science.
Safety & Handling Note

Intensely radioactive; handling restricted exclusively to specialized radiochemical hot-cell facilities.

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