By Beth Mole
In their momentary life span, atoms of lawrencium, element 103, may have left a lasting impression on the structure of the periodic table.
For the first time, researchers have measured a basic property of the fleeting radioactive element, namely its ionization potential, they report in the April 9 Nature. The ionization potential — how much energy it takes to strip an atom of its most weakly bound electron —hints at how that atom’s electrons are arranged. Such information for lawrencium may help resolve a long-standing question about where the element belongs in the periodic table.