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102
Room of the Elements · No. 102

Nobelium (No): what kind of element is it?

日本語

In short

Nobelium is element number 102, with the symbol No. Its name comes from Nobel, the inventor of explosives.
Atomic number 102(259)
NoNobelium (nōberiumu)
Symbol
No
Atomic weight
(259)
Place in the table
Period 7 · Actinoids

The number in parentheses is not an atomic weight. It is the mass number of one radioactive isotope of the element.

Atomic weight from the Chemical Society of Japan, “Table of Standard Atomic Weights with Four Significant Figures (2026)”.

An inventor’s name

Nobelium was discovered in 1958 and named after Nobel, who invented explosives.

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of the lithium-ion battery, and Akira Yoshino of Japan was one of the winners.

Where it sits on the table

The fifteen elements from actinium to lawrencium are called the actinoids. On the Room of the Elements table they are in the lower of the two rows set apart at the bottom.

Think about it

There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.

Did you know? — Among elements named after people, Nobel was an inventor, and Lawrence invented a machine, the cyclotron.
Next steps
About this page
Symbol and atomic weight: Chemical Society of Japan, “Table of Standard Atomic Weights (2026)” and “Table of Atomic Weights with Four Significant Figures (2026)”. Origin of the symbol and year of discovery: Sugiyama, “The Origins of Element Symbols,” Kagaku to Kyōiku 43(12), 1995 (Chemical Society of Japan). The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Okada, “Dr. Akira Yoshino’s 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: before and after the birth of the lithium-ion battery,” Trends in the Sciences 25(2), 2020. All sources are in Japanese.
Written by CCN CO., LTD.
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