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锫 is a modern phono-semantic compound: the left radical 钅 (metal) marks it as a metallic element, while the right component 培 (péi) approximates the English pronunciation. The traditional form 錇 uses the older radical 釒. Coined for the synthetic radioactive element berkelium (atomic number 97), it exemplifies the systematic Chinese scientific method of blending semantic classification with phonetic approximation to integrate new concepts.
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