Rutherfordium is a metal in Group IVB and the 7th period. It is a synthetic element; none occurs naturally on earth.
The element was discovered by workers of the Joint Nuclear Research Institute at Dubna, Russia, in 1964. It was named for Ernest Rutherford, a British physicist.
Rf is synthetic, just as are are all other elements beyond U. It was made by bombarding Plutonium with accelerated 113 to 115 MeV Neon ions.
257Rf has a half-life of 4 to 5 seconds (as an alpha emitter).
Little is known about the chemistry of Rutherfordium. It is expected to have properties similar to Hafnium.