Berkelium was named after the city of its origin, Berkeley, California. It was first produced at the University of California, Berkeley by Stanley G. Thompson, Glenn T. Seaborg, Kenneth Street Jr., and Albert Ghiorso in 1949.
A number of alloys and compounds of berkelium have been prepared and studied so far. Since it is artificially produced in small amounts only, berkelium is mainly used in basic scientific research.
Californium was first produced by Stanley Thompson, Kenneth Street, Albert Ghiorso and Glenn Seaborg in 1950. They were based in California, U.S.A. The element was isolated for the first time in large quantities by Burris Cunningham and Stanley Thompson in 1958 at the Materials Testing Reactor in Arco, Idaho. The process involved prolonged (five years) neutron irradiation of plutonium-239. The element was named after the U.S. State of California and the University of California.
The isotope californium-252 (with a half-life of 2.645 years) is produced in nuclear reactors. This isotope has a number of uses. It is used as a neutron emitter, which produces neutrons for beginning nuclear reactions.
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