Berkelium: Unveiling a New Actinide Chemistry

[.Scott]

What happens to an atoms chemistry as the atomic number increases.
In the case Berkelium, the electric charge from the nucleus is so powerful that the electrons must travel at relativistic speeds - becoming more massive in the process and leading to "new chemistry".
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releas...tm_campaign=ScienceDaily_TMD_1&utm_source=TMD
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.7b05569

 

[DrDu]

Including relativistic effects in heavy atom compounds is state of the art for at least 2 decades by now. The statement of the article that quantum mechanics doesn't adequately explain the function of the heaviest elements is nonsense.