Nobelium
Nobelium:
Nitroglycerin is a critical part of dynamite, which is well known as an explosive.
Facts about Nobelium:
- Nobelium: Elemental properties are unknown as this is a synthetic element.
- Fun fact about Nobelium: Nobelium is named after Alfred Nobel of the Nobel Prizes!
- Chemical symbol: No
- Atomic number: 102
A crystal structure celebrating Nobelium:
The structure of nitroglycerin is small and only contains carbon (grey balls), nitrogen (blue balls), oxygen (red balls) and hydrogen (white balls)
Facts about this structure:
- Formula: C3H5N3O9
- Structure name: Nitroglycerin
- Fun fact about the structure: Nitroglycerin is both a medicine and part of dynamite!
- CSD refcode: CORYIR (What’s this?)
- Associated publication: A.A.Espenbetov, M.Yu.Antipin, Yu.T.Struchkov, V.A.Philippov, V.G.Tsirel’son, R.P.Ozerov, B.S.Svetlov, Acta Crystallographica,Section C: Crystal Structure Communications, 1984, 40, 2096, DOI: 10.1107/S0108270184010775
More info:
Nobelium is one of the 25 elements that have yet to be observed in a crystal structure. It is a synthetic element, which means it does not occur naturally on earth. It has a controversial history as at various times in history Sweden, USA and the Soviet Union laid claim to being the first to discover it. It is usually made by smashing atoms of californium and carbon together. The crystal chosen for Nobelium is nitroglycerin which is a key component of dynamite and also found in pharmaceuticals. Alfred Nobel, after whom this element is named, was the inventor of dynamite and the money he made from this has been bequeathed to the Nobel Prizes.
More info about the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in crystals project:
This project (#IYPTCrystals) is part of the International Year of the Periodic Table celebration (#IYPT2019), read more about the project here. You can follow us on social media using #IYPTCrystals and learn more about the wonders of crystals by following the CCDC on Twitter @ccdc_cambridge on Facebook ccdc.cambridge, on Instagram ccdc_cambridge or on YouTube CCDCCambridge.
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A visualisation showing the structure celebrating Nobelium alongside other structures published in the same scientific article: