actinide series
Study of the properties of the actinides is hampered by their radioactive instability. It is known, however, that all members of the series resemble actinium and each other in their chemical properties and that they have a strong chemical resemblance to their homologs in the lanthanide series. The actinides are reactive and assume a number of different valences in their compounds. As the atomic number increases in this series, added electrons enter the 5f electron orbital. Elements in this series with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92) are called transuranium elements. Elements with atomic numbers greater than 103 are not members of the actinide series; element 104 (rutherfordium) is the first of the transactinide elements.
See A. J. Freeman and G. H. Lander, ed., Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of the Actinides (1984); S. Cotton, Lanthanides and Actinides (1991).
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