actinide, Any of the series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89–103). All are radioactive heavy metals; and only the first four (actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium) occur in nature in appreciable quantities. The other 11 (the transuranium elements) are unstable and are produced only artificially. Actinides are transition elements, so their atoms have similar configurations and similar physical and chemical behaviour; the most usual valences are 3 and 4.
actinoid element Article
actinide summary
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Learn about the structure of actinide and its classification
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Glenn T. Seaborg Summary
Glenn T. Seaborg was an American nuclear chemist best known for his work on isolating and identifying transuranium elements (those heavier than uranium). He shared the 1951 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Edwin Mattison McMillan for their independent discoveries of transuranium elements. Seaborgium
uranium Summary
Uranium (U), radioactive chemical element of the actinoid series of the periodic table, atomic number 92. It is an important nuclear fuel. Uranium constitutes about two parts per million of Earth’s crust. Some important uranium minerals are pitchblende (impure U3O8), uraninite (UO2), carnotite (a
transuranium element Summary
Transuranium element, any of the chemical elements that lie beyond uranium in the periodic table—i.e., those with atomic numbers greater than 92. Twenty-six of these elements have been discovered and named or are awaiting confirmation of their discovery. Eleven of them, from neptunium through