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Nobelium was discovered independently by several teams of researchers, one in the Soviet Union, one in Stockholm, and one in Berkley.
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In 1957, the Stockholm team working at the Nobel Institute reported the creation of an isotope that they later decided was faulty background effects.
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A team at the University of California in Berkley announced the synthesis of the new element in 1958.
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The IUPAC declared in 1992 that the work performed by the Dubna team in 1966 was the more accurate finding of nobelium.
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While the element was possibly detected in both 1957 and 1958, the Dubna team is credited with the discovery.
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Despite naming the element joliotium (Jo) by the Dubna team, the IUPAC kept the 1958 designation, named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.
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So little nobelium has been produced that its appearance is unknown.
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Researchers believe due to its properties that it would have a silvery-white color if enough quantities were available to be seen.
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If enough nobelium were synthesized, however, it would pose a severe radiation threat.
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Nobelium has played an instrumental role in the study of cold fusion, beginning in 1979.
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There are twelve known isotopes of nobelium.
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The most stable isotope is No-259, with a half-life of fifty-eight minutes.
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There are two hypothetical isotopes, No-261 and No-263, that are believed to have longer half-lives.
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The most recently discovered isotope of nobelium is No-250, which was synthesized in 2006.
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Due to its scarcity, no known uses for nobelium have been discovered.
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