Meitnerium

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Elementbox header Template:Elementbox series Template:Elementbox groupperiodblock Template:Elementbox appearance Template:Elementbox atomicmass gpm Template:Elementbox econfig Template:Elementbox epershell Template:Elementbox phase Template:Elementbox cas number Template:Elementbox footer

Meitnerium (Eka-Iridium) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Mt and atomic number 109. It is a synthetic element whose most stable isotope is Mt-276 with a half-life of 720 milliseconds.

[edit]

History

Meitnerium was first synthesized on August 29, 1982 by a German research team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the Institute for Heavy Ion Research at Darmstadt.
The team bombarded a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated nuclei of iron-58. The synthesis of this element demonstrated that nuclear fusion techniques could be used to make new, heavy nuclei.

The name meitnerium was suggested in honor of the Austrian-Swedish physicist and mathematician Lise Meitner, but there was an element naming controversy as to what the elements from 101 to 109 were to be called; thus IUPAC adopted unnilennium (symbol Une) as a temporary, systematic element name. In 1997, however, the dispute was resolved and the current name was adopted.

[edit]