Nihonium
⚛️ In Your World
Nihonium is a synthetic, superheavy element that has only ever been created a few atoms at a time in particle accelerators. Its most stable known isotope, nihonium-286, has a half-life of about 20 seconds. Due to its extreme instability and the fact that only a handful of atoms have ever been made, it has no applications outside of fundamental scientific research. Its only purpose is to help scientists understand the behavior and limits of atomic nuclei.
📖 The Discovery Story
Nihonium was first synthesized in 2004 by a team of Japanese scientists at the RIKEN research institute in Wako, Japan, led by Kosuke Morita. They achieved this by bombarding a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated zinc-70 ions. The element was officially named in 2016 in honor of Japan, as "Nihon" is one of the two Japanese names for the country. This made Nihonium the first element to be discovered and named by an Asian country.
📊 Properties at a Glance
| Phase at STP | Solid (presumed) |
| Melting Point | 700 K (427 °C, 800 °F) (predicted) |
| Boiling Point | 1430 K (1157 °C, 2115 °F) (predicted) |
| Electron Configuration | [Rn] 5f¹⁴6d¹⁰7s²7p¹ (predicted) |
| Abundance in Earth's Crust | Essentially zero |
⚠️ Safety & Handling
Nihonium is intensely radioactive and extremely hazardous. It has only ever been produced on an atom-by-atom basis. All work with nihonium is conducted in specialized particle accelerator facilities with remote handling to protect researchers from its lethal radiation.