Fermium is a transuranic synthetic element that belongs to the actinide series of the periodic table. It was named after Enrico Fermi, a physicist who led the first nuclear reactor experiment in 1942. Fermium is created by irradiating lighter elements, such as plutonium or uranium, with a neutron source in a nuclear reactor. Due to its high radioactivity and instability, fermium has no practical uses outside of scientific research, where it can be used to study nuclear physics and chemistry, as well as investigate the nature of matter beyond the limits of the periodic table.