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Superheavy elements, also referred to as transactinide elements or transactinides, are a set of 15 chemical elements with atomic numbers starting from 104 (rutherfordium) and extending to 118 (oganesson). These elements are characterized by their high atomic masses and are considered to be part of the transuranium elements, as their atomic numbers exceed that of uranium (92). Positioned immediately after the actinides in the periodic table, these elements extend beyond the last element of the actinide series, which is lawrencium.
The superheavy elements are highly unstable and exhibit radioactive properties due to their large atomic masses and the presence of additional neutrons in their nuclei. Being synthetic elements, they do not occur naturally and are instead produced through nuclear reactions by bombarding heavy nuclei with accelerated particles.
The naming of superheavy elements is a way to honor and acknowledge the contributions of various physicists and chemists to the field of atomic structure and nuclear physics. Many of these elements are named after renowned scientists who played key roles in advancing our understanding of the atomic realm. For example, elements such as darmstadtium (Ds) and roentgenium (Rg) are named after the German city of Darmstadt and the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, respectively. These names serve as a tribute to the significant contributions of these individuals in expanding our knowledge of the atomic world.
On periodic table
| group | ⇨ | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| period | ⇩ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 H  Hydrogen |
2 He  Helium |
|||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 Li  Lithium |
4 Be  Beryllium |
5 B  Boron |
6 C  Carbon |
7 N  Nitrogen |
8 O  Oxygen |
9 F  Fluorine |
10 Ne  Neon |
|||||||||||
| 3 | 11 Na  Sodium |
12 Mg  Magnesium |
13 Al  Aluminium |
14 Si  Silicon |
15 P  Phosphorus |
16 S  Sulfur |
17 Cl  Chlorine |
18 Ar  Argon |
|||||||||||
| 4 | 19 K  Potassium |
20 Ca  Calcium |
21 Sc  Scandium |
22 Ti  Titanium |
23 V  Vanadium |
24 Cr  Chromium |
25 Mn  Manganese |
26 Fe  Iron |
27 Co  Cobalt |
28 Ni  Nickel |
29 Cu  Copper |
30 Zn  Zinc |
31 Ga  Gallium |
32 Ge  Germanium |
33 As  Arsenic |
34 Se  Selenium |
35 Br  Bromine |
36 Kr  Krypton |
|
| 5 | 37 Rb  Rubidium |
38 Sr  Strontium |
39 Y  Yttrium |
40 Zr  Zirconium |
41 Nb  Niobium |
42 Mo  Molybdenum |
43 Tc  Technetium |
44 Ru  Ruthenium |
45 Rh  Rhodium |
46 Pd  Palladium |
47 Ag  Silver |
48 Cd  Cadmium |
49 In  Indium |
50 Sn  Tin |
51 Sb  Antimony |
52 Te  Tellurium |
53 I  Iodine |
54 Xe  Xenon |
|
| 6 | 55 Cs  Caesium |
56 Ba  Barium |
72 Hf  Hafnium |
73 Ta  Tantalum |
74 W  Tungsten |
75 Re  Rhenium |
76 Os  Osmium |
77 Ir  Iridium |
78 Pt  Platinum |
79 Au  Gold |
80 Hg  Mercury |
81 Tl  Thallium |
82 Pb  Lead |
83 Bi  Bismuth |
84 Po  Polonium |
85 At  Astatine |
86 Rn  Radon |
||
| 7 | 87 Fr  Francium |
88 Ra  Radium |
104 Rf  Rutherfordium |
105 Db  Dubnium |
106 Sg  Seaborgium |
107 Bh  Bohrium |
108 Hs  Hassium |
109 Mt  Meitnerium |
110 Ds  Darmstadtium |
111 Rg  Roentgenium |
112 Cn  Copernicium |
113 Nh  Nihonium |
114 Fl  Flerovium |
115 Mc  Moscovium |
116 Lv  Livermorium |
117 Ts  Tennessine |
118 Og  Oganesson |
||
| 57 La  Lanthanum |
58 Ce  Cerium |
59 Pr  Praseodymium |
60 Nd  Neodymium |
61 Pm  Promethium |
62 Sm  Samarium |
63 Eu  Europium |
64 Gd  Gadolinium |
65 Tb  Terbium |
66 Dy  Dysprosium |
67 Ho  Holmium |
68 Er  Erbium |
69 Tm  Thulium |
70 Yb  Ytterbium |
71 Lu  Lutetium |
|||||
| 89 Ac  Actinium |
90 Th  Thorium |
91 Pa  Protactinium |
92 U  Uranium |
93 Np  Neptunium |
94 Pu  Plutonium |
95 Am  Americium |
96 Cm  Curium |
97 Bk  Berkelium |
98 Cf  Californium |
99 Es  Einsteinium |
100 Fm  Fermium |
101 Md  Mendelevium |
102 No  Nobelium |
103 Lr  Lawrencium |
|||||
| – superheavy element |
On the periodic table, superheavy elements are a series of 15 chemical elements – those with atomic numbers greater than that of lawrencium – starting from rutherfordium, dubnium, seaborgium, and extending beyond, up to oganesson.
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Related
More topics
- Transuranium element
- Superheavy element
- Rare-earth element
- Synthetic element
- Main-group element
- Inner transition metal
External links
- Superheavy Element Discovery – Glenn T. Seaborg Institute (.gov)
- Superheavy element – Wikipedia
- The Quest for Superheavy Elements and the Island of Stability – Scientific American
- Exploring the superheavy elements at the end of the periodic table – C&EN
- Explainer: superheavy elements | News – Chemistry World
- Chemistry of the superheavy elements – The Royal Society
- Superheavy elements – PhysicsWorld
- Superheavy element | chemistry – Britannica
- Superheavy Element – an overview – ScienceDirect
- 50 years ago, the quest for superheavy elements was just getting started – Science News
- Building a Scale to Weigh Superheavy Elements – OSTI.GOV (.gov)
- Superheavy Elements – Science
- Chemical experiments with superheavy elements – National Institutes of Health (.gov)
- International Year of the Periodic Table – Superheavy Elements – UC San Diego Library
- Studying Superheavy Elements – ChemistryViews
- Introduction to Superheavy Elements – Argonne National Laboratory (.gov)
- Synthesis of New Superheavy Elements and Nuclei – Oak Ridge National Laboratory (.gov)
- Superheavy Element – Academic Accelerator
Deep
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