What is Berkelium?
'''Berkelium''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|/bəˈkiːliəm/}}) is a [[synthetic]], [[Radioactive decay|radioactive,]] [[chemical element]] in the [[periodic table]] that has the symbol '''Bk''' and [[atomic number]] 97. It is a [[metal]]lic element and part of the [[actinide]] series. Berkelium was invented by scientists and does not exist in nature. Berkelium was first made by hitting [[americium]] with [[alpha particles]] or [[helium]] [[ion]]s. It is named after [[Berkeley, California]] and the [[University of California, Berkeley]]. == Uses == Its only uses are to create bigger elements and research.<!--== Notable characteristics == Weighable amounts of <sup>249</sup>Bk (half-life 314 days) make it possible to determine some of its properties using macroscopic quantities. [[As of 2004]] it had not been isolated in its elemental form, but it is predicted to be a silvery metal that would easily [[oxidation|oxidize]] in air at elevated temperatures and would be [[solubility|soluble]] in dilute [[mineral acid]]s.--> <!--[[X-ray diffraction]] techniques have been used to identify various berkelium [[compound (chemistry)|compound]]s such as berkelium dioxide (BkO<sub>2</sub>), berkelium fluoride (BkF<sub>3</sub>), berkelium oxychloride (BkOCl), and berkelium trioxide (BkO<sub>3</sub>). In [[1962]] visible amounts of berkelium [[chloride]] (BkCl<sub>3</sub>) were isolated that weighed 3 billionths of a [[gram]]. This was the first time visible amounts of a pure berkelium compound were produced.--> <!--Like other actinides, berkelium [[bio-accumulate]]s in [[skeleton|skeletal]] tissue.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} This element has no known uses outside of basic research and plays no biological role.--> <!--==History == Berkelium was [[discovery of the chemical elements|first synthesized]] by [[Glenn T. Seaborg]], [[Albert Ghiorso]], Stanley G. Thompson, and Kenneth Street, Jr at the [[University of California, Berkeley]] in December [[1949]]. The team used a [[cyclotron]] to bombard a [[milligram]]-