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Naming a chemical element after a person is one of the highest honors in science. Within the block of heavy, synthetic elements numbered 95 through 100, this tribute is granted to three titans of physics. Element 96, Curium (Cm), honors the foundational work of radioactivity pioneers Marie and Pierre Curie. The other two, Einsteinium (Es) and Fermium (Fm), are named for the iconic Albert Einstein and the "architect of the nuclear age," Enrico Fermi, respectively.
The discovery story for Einsteinium and Fermium is particularly dramatic. These elements were not created intentionally in a lab at first, but were instead discovered unexpectedly in the fallout (Review) from the first successful hydrogen bomb test, "Ivy Mike," in 1952. The intense conditions of the explosion forged these new, super-heavy atoms. It is fitting that elements born from such a powerful nuclear event would be named for two figures whose work laid the theoretical and practical groundwork
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