The first synthesis of lawrencium was carried out by using californium and boron ions. The synthesis occurred in a heavy ion linear accelerator and involved bombarding a target that included three californium isotopes in addition to two boron isotopes. In this process, the nuclei of the isotopes became charged with electricity, recoiled using a helium atmosphere, and were then collected on a conveyor tape composed of copper. Solid-state detectors were then used to collect the atoms after the tape was moved. An alpha particle with a 4.2 second half life was named lawrencium. Today, atomic bombardment of the californium element is used to produce some amounts of lawrencium. Lawrencium production is very expensive and can only be produced in such tiny amounts that it is difficult to study the chemical characteristics and structure of this element. Lawrencium is also known to be extremely radioactive, and if it were produced in significant quantities it would pose serious environmental and health hazards.