Nobelium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol No and atomic number 102. The discovery of element 102 was a complicated process claimed by groups from Sweden, the United States, and the Soviet Union. However, the first complete and incontrovertible report of its detection only came in 1966 from the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research at Dubna (then in the Soviet Union). It is named in honor of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and benefactor of science.

Actinide Chemical Elements

The actinide series encompasses the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers from 89 to 103, actinium through lawrencium.

These fifteen actinide elements [Actinium (Ac), Thorium (Th), Protactinium (Pa), Uranium (U), Neptunium (Np), Plutonium (Pu), Americium (Am), Curium (Cm), Berkelium (Bk), Californium (Cf), Einsteinium (Es), Fermium (Fm), Mendelevium (Md), Nobelium (No), Lawrencium (Lr)], have very large atomic and ionic radii and exhibit an unusually large range of physical properties.