Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A synthetic radioactive transuranic element of the actinide series that has known isotopes with mass numbers ranging from 245 to 262. The isotopes with the longest half-lives are Md-258 (51.5 days) and Md-260 (31.8 days). Atomic number 101; melting point 827°C; valence 2,3. cross-reference: Periodic Table.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective (Chem.) an unstable radioactive element discovered in 1955 and produced artificially only in very small quantities; symbol Md (also Mv). It is a transuranic element with atomic number 101. Isotopes 255, 256, 257, and 258 have been prepared. Md258, the longest-lived, has a half-life of two months.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
transuranic chemical element (symbol Md, formerly Mv) withatomic number 101.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a radioactive transuranic element synthesized by bombarding einsteinium with alpha particles (Md is the current symbol for mendelevium but Mv was formerly the symbol)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[After Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Named after the scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, who is the creator of the periodic table. The same name was proposed, but rejected, for the earlier-discovered elements berkelium and erbium.
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Examples
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Element number 101 is named mendelevium in his honor.
MAKE Magazine Sean Michael Ragan 2010
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He heedlessly bores through helium, mercury, ytterbium, molybdenum, and more until he reaches mendelevium-and her last nerve.
Slate Magazine 2009
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He heedlessly bores through helium, mercury, ytterbium, molybdenum, and more until he reaches mendelevium-and her last nerve.
Slate Magazine 2009
oroboros commented on the word mendelevium
Md.
December 16, 2007