110UNUNNILIUM (271)Atomic weight: 271Group: Transition metalsElectron configuration: 2-8-18-32-32-17-1

Element 110Element 110, also called ununnilium (Uun), chemical element with atomic number 110. It is

produced artificially by nuclear fusion (in which an element with larger atoms is produced by fusing

together smaller atoms from other elements). Each ununnilium atom has a very large nucleus, or

central mass, containing positively charged particles called protons and neutral particles called

neutrons. The large number of particles in the nucleus makes the atom unstable and causes the

atom to split apart into smaller components soon after it is created. Scientists named ununnilium

according to a system that uses Latin prefixes for the atomic number (un = 1, un = 1, nil = 0),

followed by the suffix -ium. Elements with atomic numbers lower than 110 that were first named

using this system have since been renamed using more traditional methods. Ununnilium was first

discovered in 1994 by scientists in three separate research facilities: the Heavy-Ion Research

Laboratory in Germany, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the United States, and the

Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Russia.

Ununnilium has the atomic number 110, which means that each Uun atom contains 110 protons in

the nucleus. Scientists have created a number of isotopes of ununnilium, or forms of the element

that contain different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus. For example, ununnilium-269 contains

110 protons and 159 neutrons (110 protons + 159 neutrons = atomic mass 269). Similarly,

ununnilium-271 contains 110 protons and 161 neutrons.

Ununnilium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni).

Because the ununnilium nucleus contains so many particles, ununnilium is unstable and undergoes

spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom breaks into smaller “daughter” components.

When the atom splits, it releases energy in the form of electromagnetic waves and electrically

charged bits of matter. This energy is known as radiation (see Radioactivity).

German scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory discovered ununnilium-269, an isotope

with a lifespan of only .0022 seconds. Bombarding lead with nickel for over two days in the German

laboratory produced only three atoms of ununnilium. The most stable isotope of element 110 is

ununnilium-271 that has a lifespan of .0172 seconds. By 1998 six isotopes of ununnilium were

confirmed: 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, and 272.

Ununnilium belongs to Group 10 (VIIIb) on the periodic table, which also contains the naturally

occurring elements nickel (Ni), palladium (Pd), and platinum (Pt) (see Chemical Element). Nickel,

palladium, and platinum are all whitish-silver, shiny metals that are both malleable (can be shaped

by hammering) and ductile (can be drawn into wire). Under normal conditions, these metals are

resistant to corrosion, each forms a complex with four chloride ions, and all react with oxygen when

heated. Because elements in the same group, or column, on the periodic table often share similar

properties (a pattern known as the periodic law), scientists expect ununnilium to share properties

with other Group 10 elements. However, because of the limited amount of ununnilium that can be

produced and its extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine chemical

properties of this highly unstable element.

111UNUNUNIUM (272)Atomic weight: 272Group: Transition metalsElectron configuration: 2-8-18-32-32-18-1

Element 111Element 111, also called unununium (Uuu), chemical element with atomic number 111. It is

produced artificially by nuclear fusion (in which a chemical element with larger atoms is produced

by fusing together smaller atoms from other elements). Each unununium atom has a very large

nucleus, or central mass, containing positively charged particles called protons and neutral

particles called neutrons (see Atom). The large number of particles in the nucleus makes the atom

unstable and causes the atom to split apart into smaller components soon after it is created.

Scientists named unununium according to a system that uses Latin prefixes for the atomic number

(un = 1, un = 1, un = 1), followed by the suffix -ium. Elements with atomic numbers lower than 110

that were first named using this system have since been renamed using more traditional methods.

Unununium was first discovered in 1994 by scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory in

Darmstadt, Germany.

Unununium has the atomic number 111, which means that each Uuu atom contains 111 protons in

the nucleus. Scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory created an atom of unununium that

contained 161 neutrons, labeled unununium-272 (111 protons + 161 neutrons = unununium-272).

Unununium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements bismuth (Bi) and nickel (Ni).

Because the unununium nucleus contains so many particles, unununium is unstable and undergoes

spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom breaks into smaller “daughter” components.

When the atom splits, it releases energy in the form of electromagnetic waves and electrically

charged bits of matter. This energy is known as radiation (see Radioactivity). Unununium-272 has a

very brief lifespan that is 0.003 seconds. By 1998 unununium-272 was the only confirmed isotope

of Element 111. Other isotopes of element 111 would be forms of the element with the same

number of protons in the nucleus, but a different number of neutrons.

Unununium belongs to Group 11 (Ib) on the periodic table, which also contains the naturally

occurring elements copper (Cu), silver (Ag), and gold (Au). Copper, silver, and gold all have the

ability to conduct heat and electricity, and to form alloys with other metals. Because elements in

the same group, or column, on the periodic table often share similar properties (a pattern known as

the periodic law), scientists expect unununium to share properties with other Group 11 elements.

However, because of the very limited amount of unununium that has been produced and its

extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to determine chemical properties of this

unstable element.

112UNUNBIUM (277)Atomic weight: 277Group: Transition metalsElectron configuration: 2-8-18-32-32-18-2

Element 112Element 112, also called ununbium (Uub), chemical element with atomic number 112. It is

produced artificially by nuclear fusion (in which an element with larger atoms is produced by fusing

together smaller atoms from other elements). Each ununbium atom has a very large nucleus, or

central mass, containing positively charged particles called protons and neutral particles called

neutrons. The large number of particles in the nucleus makes the atom unstable and causes the

atom to split apart into smaller components soon after it is created. Scientists named ununbium

according to a system that uses Latin prefixes for the atomic number (un = 1, un = 1, bi = 2),

followed by the suffix -ium or -um. Elements with atomic numbers lower than 110 that were first

named using this system have since been renamed using more traditional methods. Ununbium was

first discovered in 1996 by scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany.

Ununbium has the atomic number 112, which means that each Uub atom contains 112 protons in

the nucleus. Scientists at the Heavy-Ion Research Laboratory created an atom of ununbium that

contained 165 neutrons, labeled ununbium-277 (112 protons + 165 neutrons = ununbium-277).

Ununbium was created by nuclear fusion of the smaller elements lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn). Because

the ununbium nucleus contains so many particles, ununbium is unstable and undergoes

spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom breaks into smaller “daughter” components.

When the atom splits, it releases energy in the form of electromagnetic waves and electrically

charged bits of matter. This energy is known as radiation (see Radioactivity). Ununbium-277 has a

very brief lifespan of .00048 seconds. By 1998 ununbium-277 was the only confirmed isotope of

Element 112. Other isotopes of element 112 would be forms of the element with the same number

of protons in the nucleus, but a different number of neutrons.

Ununbium belongs to Group 12 (IIb) on the periodic table, which also contains the naturally

occurring elements zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) (see Chemical Element). Relative to

other metallic elements, zinc, cadmium, and mercury have high boiling points and low melting

points. Zinc, cadmium, and mercury are all reactive with oxygen (O), sulfur (S), and the halogens

(Group 17 or VIIa). Because elements in the same group, or column, on the periodic table often

share similar properties (a pattern known as the periodic law), scientists expect ununbium to share

properties with other Group 12 elements. However, because of the very limited amount of

ununbium that has been produced and its extremely short lifespan, scientists have been unable to

determine chemical properties of this unstable element.

114

UNUNQUADIUM (285)Atomic weight: 285Group: Other metalsElectron configuration: 2-8-18-32-32-18-4

Element 114Element 114, also called ununquadium (Uuq), chemical element with atomic number 114. Each

atom of the element has a nucleus, or central core, containing positively charged particles called

protons and neutral particles called neutrons (see Atom). The number of protons in the nucleus of

an atom of any element determines the element’s atomic number. Thus the nucleus of an atom of

ununquadium contains 114 protons. The element is not found in nature but can be produced

artificially by nuclear fusion (process in which a chemical element with larger atoms is produced by

fusing together two smaller atoms of other elements). Atoms of ununquadium quickly decay into

atoms of elements containing fewer protons and neutrons.

Ununquadium is a temporary name assigned according to a system that uses Latin prefixes for the

atomic number (un = 1, quad = 4), followed by the suffix -ium. Elements with atomic numbers

higher than 109 have not yet been given permanent names by the International Union of Pure and

Applied Chemistry.

Ununquadium belongs to Group 14 (or IVa), a column of the periodic table that also contains

naturally occurring elements such as tin (Sn) and lead (Pb). Because elements in the same group of

the periodic table often share similar properties (a pattern known as the periodic law), scientists

expect ununquadium’s properties to resemble those of tin and lead. Scientists have been unable to

examine ununquadium’s chemical properties, however, because of the limited amount and short

life span of the isotope of ununquadium that has been produced. Isotopes are different versions of a

single element that all contain the same number of protons but contain differing numbers of

neutrons.

Scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, produced an atom of

ununquadium late in 1998. Their discovery has not yet been confirmed by another laboratory. They

produced the new element artificially by using a particle accelerator to bombard a plutonium target

(Pu) with a highly accelerated beam of calcium (Ca) atoms. When a calcium atom slammed into a

plutonium atom in just the right way, they apparently fused into an isotope of ununquadium, called

ununquadium-289 because it contains 114 protons and 175 neutrons (114 + 175 = 289).

Because the ununquadium nucleus contains so many particles, ununquadium is unstable and

undergoes spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom breaks into smaller “daughter”

components. The super-heavy ununquadium-289 isotope produced at Dubna took about 30 seconds

to decay; all other known atoms with similar numbers of particles packed into their nuclei decay in

a fraction of a second. Scientists have predicted an island of stability centered around an atom that

contains 114 protons and 184 neutrons. The atom produced at Dubna contained exactly the desired

number of protons, and nearly the desired number of neutrons. Its relatively long decay time lends

credibility to the stability predictions. Scientists at Dubna later produced a second isotope,

ununquadium-287. As expected, this isotope, containing two fewer neutrons than ununquadium-

289 and so positioned further from the theoretical island of stability, decayed in a fraction of

second. Future research will probably focus on reaching the island of stability by producing

ununquadium-298, the isotope of the element containing 184 neutrons. This isotope might have a

decay time measured in hours or even days, far longer than any other artificially produced element.

116UNUNHEXIUM (292)Atomic weight: 292Group: Other metalsElectron configuration: 2-8-18-32-32-18-6

Element 116Element 116, also called ununhexium (Uuh), chemical element with atomic number 116. Each

ununhexium atom has a nucleus, or inner core, containing particles called neutrons and protons

(see Atom). The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom determines the element’s atomic

number. The nucleus of an atom of ununhexium, therefore, contains 116 protons. Ununhexium has

never been found in nature but can be produced in the laboratory by nuclear fusion (a process in

which a chemical element with larger atoms is produced by fusing together two smaller atoms of

other elements).

Scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, created the first atom of

ununhexium in mid-2001. They produced ununhexium by using a machine called a particle

accelerator to accelerate calcium (Ca) atoms to a very high velocity and then smashing them into

atoms of the element curium (Cm). In a very small percentage of these collisions, an atom of

calcium combines with an atom of curium to form an isotope of ununhexium called ununhexium-

292. Isotopes are varieties of an element that all contain the same number of protons in their cores

but contain different numbers of neutrons. Ununhexium-292 contains 116 protons and 176

neutrons (116 + 176 = 292). The Dubna scientists have since produced additional atoms of the

element, but their discovery has not yet been confirmed by another laboratory.

Atoms that contain many more than 200 particles (protons and neutrons) tend to be unstable and

split apart into atoms of elements containing fewer protons and neutrons. This decay is called

spontaneous fission, a process in which the atom breaks into smaller “daughter” components. In

general, the more particles a nucleus contains, the quicker it tends to decay. Like most of the other

known atoms with large numbers of particles packed into their nuclei, ununhexium-292 breaks

down very quickly, taking an average of only about 76 milliseconds to decay.

Scientists have been unable to examine ununhexium’s chemical properties because of the limited

amount of ununhexium-292 that has been produced and its short life span. Scientists suspect,

however, that ununhexium’s properties will turn out to resemble those of the naturally occurring

element polonium (Po). Ununhexium belongs to Group 16 (or VIa), a column of the periodic table

that also contains polonium. Elements in the same group of the periodic table often share similar

properties (a pattern known as the periodic law).

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has not yet given permanent names to

elements, including ununhexium, with atomic numbers higher than 109. Ununhexium is a

temporary name based on the element’s atomic number that uses Latin prefixes for the digits of

the atomic number (un = 1, hex = 6) followed by the suffix -ium.