Ununbium
Atomic Number: 112
Symbol: Uub
Atomic Weight: [277]
Discovery: Hofmann, Ninov et al. GSI-Germany 1996
Electron Configuration: [Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2
Word Origin: Elements 110 and heavier are named according to an IUPAC naming convention. Un (one) un (one) bi (two)
Properties: At the time of this writing, element 112 is the heaviest element ever produced by man. There have been reports of detection of even more massive elements, but the results have not been replicable. The chemistry of element 112 is expected to be similar to that of the elements zinc, cadmium, and mercury. In contrast to the lighter elements, element 112 decays after a fraction of a thousandth of a second by emitting alpha particles to first become an isotope of element 110 with atomic mass 273, and then an isotope of hassium with atomic mass 269. The decay chain has been followed for three more alpha-decays to fermium.
Sources: Element 112 was produced by fusing (melting together) a zinc atom with a lead atom. The zinc atom was accelerated to high energies by a heavy ion accelerator and directed onto a lead target.
Element Classification: Transition Metal
References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (18th Ed.)
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