Question
Question: The \({100^{th}}\) element is named in the honour of: A. Einstein B. Bohr C. Fermi D. Curie...
The 100th element is named in the honour of:
A. Einstein
B. Bohr
C. Fermi
D. Curie
Solution
The name of the 100th element is Fermium. It is a synthetic man-made element and is radioactive thus, it is obtained in very small quantities (microgram). It was discovered by a team headed by Albert Ghiorso in 1953.
Complete step by step answer:
The 100th element of the modern periodic table is present in group 3 and belongs to the F- block, where almost all the elements are radioactive and so is the 100th element. Therefore, it is toxic and has almost no biological role.
It is present in the solid-state at room temperature. Its electronic configuration is [Rn]5f127s2v .
257Fm is its heaviest isotope
It was first discovered in the debris during the first thermonuclear explosion in the Pacific atoll. Fermium can be obtained in very small (microgram) quantities from the bombardment of neutrons on plutonium in a nuclear reactor. In the explosion, the uranium-238 was exposed to neutrons, which got absorbed by some of its atoms and therefore leading to the formation of elements from atomic number 93 to 100. In this way, fermium-255 was discovered. Fermium-250 can be obtained by bombarding the oxygen nuclei on uranium-238.
The scientist who is honored and after whom the 100th element fermium is named is very clear from the name of the compound itself.
So, the correct answer is Option C.
Note: Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist. He was the creator of the first-ever nuclear reactor i.e. Chicago Pile-1. He was awarded the Nobel prize in physics for the discovery of radioactive elements by neutron bombardment.