Five U.S. chemists had a plan,
showed to the world what they can.
Ghiorso, Seaborg, Choppin and Harvey,
found an astonishing way,

Thompson was the leader of the team,
responsible for the money stream.
A rough idea, a sort of calculation,
and too less understanding of beta radiation.

Made a historic experiment reality,
a single atom, with recognizeable activity.
Imagine a single atom, what precision,
a full success on their mission.

Seventeen times repeated,
until every critic was defeated.
Starting from Einsteinium,
a longer cyclotron for quite a sum.

Another transuranic actinoid,
from mankind of hypothesis freed.
Dimitri Mendeleev, the father of the periodic table,
made those calculations able.

Therefore the element inherited the name,
and with that, quite some fame.
The initial plan was to enhance plutonium,
in fact Mendelevium is too fast gone.

Seventyseven point seven minutes stable,
for practical use, technically unable.
But it was a big success,
an artificial element nontheless.