Transuranium << `trans` yu RAY nee uhm >> element is any chemical element that follows uranium on the periodic table. The periodic table lists the chemical elements in order of atomic number, the number of protons in the nucleus (core) of an element’s atoms. There are 26 officially recognized and named transuranium elements. They have atomic numbers from 93 to 118. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the recognized authority in crediting the discovery of elements and assigning names to them.
The atomic numbers, names, and chemical symbols of the transuranium elements are: 93, neptunium, Np; 94, plutonium, Pu; 95, americium, Am; 96, curium, Cm; 97, berkelium, Bk; 98, californium, Cf; 99, einsteinium, Es; 100, fermium, Fm; 101, mendelevium, Md; 102, nobelium, No; 103, lawrencium, Lr; 104, rutherfordium, Rf; 105, dubnium, Db; 106, seaborgium, Sg; 107, bohrium, Bh; 108, hassium, Hs; 109, meitnerium, Mt; 110, darmstadtium, Ds; 111, roentgenium, Rg; 112, copernicium, Cn; 113, nihonium, Nh; 114, flerovium, Fl; 115, moscovium, Mc; 116, livermorium, Lv; 117, tennessine, Ts; and 118, oganesson, Og.
All transuranium elements are radioactive, and many last only a fraction of a second. They are seldom found in nature because they rapidly change into other elements through a process called radioactive decay, also known as transmutation.
Scientists produce transuranium elements using devices called particle accelerators. The scientists bombard a target nucleus with a beam of ions (electrically charged atoms) that have been boosted to tremendous speeds by the accelerator. Some of the nuclei collide and join together, forming a new, heavier nucleus. Transuranium elements also are produced in nuclear reactors and in the debris of nuclear explosions. See Particle accelerator .
