a transactinide element produced by bombarding californium-249 nuclei with carbon-12 nuclei. Symbol: Rf; atomic no.: 104; atomic wt: 261
Name in the former Soviet Union: kurchatovium
Word origin
C20: named after Ernest Rutherford
rutherfordium in American English
(ˌrʌðərˈførdiəm; ˌ rʌθərˈførdiəm)
noun
a radioactive chemical element with a very short half-life: a transactinide produced by bombarding californium or plutonium with high-energy nuclear particles: symbol, Rf; at. no., 104