Glenn T. Seaborg

Description: (Chemist)

Glen T. Seaborg was a Swedish-American nuclear chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of ‘Plutonium’. He shared the prize with another scientist, Edwin M. McMillan. Till that time Uranium was thought to be the heaviest metal in the Periodic Table. He and others worked together to discover the ‘trans-uranium elements’ including ‘element 94’ and more than 1000 other isotopes which changed Dmitry Mendeleev’s 1869 Periodic table significantly. He suggested the ‘actinide concept’ of the electronic structure of heavy elements that provided the relationship between the actinides and other elements in the Periodic table. Seaborg and his colleagues discovered nine more new ‘transuranium elements; such as americium, berkelium, curium, californium, fermium, einsteinium, nobelium, and mendelevium. The ninth element ‘element 106’ was named ‘seaborgium’ in his honor which was the first instance of an element to be named after a living person. He was not only famous for fundamental research in nuclear chemistry but also strongly supported and was committed to the education of science. He discovered radioisotopes like ‘cobalt-60’ and ‘iodine-131’ which are used to treat life-threatening diseases. He was an adviser to ten Presidents starting from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H. W. Bush.

Overview

Birthday April 19, 1912 (Aries)
Alternative names Glenn Theodore Seaborg
Died on February 25, 1999
Spouse/Ex- Helen Griggs
Parents Herman Theodore Seaborg
Olivia Erickson Seaborg
Children David, Dianne, Eric, Lynne, Peter, Stephen

Did you know

What are Glenn T. Seaborg's major contributions to science? Glenn T. Seaborg is best known for his work in discovering several transuranium elements, including plutonium, americium, and seaborgium.
What is the significance of Glenn T. Seaborg's discovery of plutonium? Glenn T. Seaborg's discovery of plutonium was significant because it played a crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons during World War II.
How did Glenn T. Seaborg impact the field of nuclear chemistry? Glenn T. Seaborg's research in nuclear chemistry led to advancements in understanding the structure of the atomic nucleus and the development of the actinide concept.
What is Glenn T. Seaborg's connection to the periodic table? Glenn T. Seaborg is known for his work on the transuranium elements, which led to the expansion of the periodic table to include elements beyond uranium.
How did Glenn T. Seaborg contribute to the field of nuclear medicine? Glenn T. Seaborg's research on radioisotopes paved the way for the use of radioactive elements in medical imaging and cancer treatments.
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