Roentgenium

Roentgenium (pronounced /rɛntˈgɛniəm/, /rəntˈjɛniəm/, formerly Unununium /ˌjuːnəˈnʌniəm/) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Rg and atomic number 111, making it one of the super-heavy atoms. It is a synthetic element whose longest-lived isotope has a mass of 280 and a half-life of 3.6 seconds. Due to its presence in Group 11, it is a transition metal.

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History

It was discovered by Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenber, and their team working at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany on December 8, 1994. Only three atoms of it were observed (all ²⁷²Rg), by the fusion of ²⁰⁹Bismuth and ⁶⁴Nickel in a linear accelerator (Nickel was bombarded onto the bismuth target):

The name roentgenium was accepted as a permanent name on November 1 2004 in honor of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen; before this date, the element was known under the temporary IUPAC systematic element name unununium, symbol Uuu). Some research has referred to it as eka-gold.

Isotopes

Twelve isotopes of roentgenium are known. The longest-lived of these is ²⁸⁰Rg, which decays through alpha decay and has a half-life of 3.6 seconds. The shortest-lived isotope is ²⁷²Rg, which decays through alpha decay and has a half life of 1.5 ms. Another known isotope, ²⁷⁹Rg, decays through alpha decay and has a half-life of 170 ms.

See also

• Island of stability