Copernicium

Copernicium 

Copernicium is a chemical element with symbol Cn and atomic number 112. It is an extremely radioactive synthetic element that can only be created in a laboratory. The most stable known isotope, copernicium-285, has a half-life of approximately 29 seconds, but it is possible that this copernicium isotope may have a nuclear isomer with a longer half-life, 8.9 min.[citation needed] Copernicium was first created in 1996 by the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research near Darmstadt, Germany. It is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

In the periodic table of the elements, it is a d-block transactinide element. During reactions with gold, it has been shown to be an extremely volatile metal and a group 12 element, and it may even be a gas at standard temperature and pressure. Copernicium is calculated to have several properties that differ between it and its lighter homologues, zinc, cadmium and mercury; the most notable of them is withdrawing two 6d-electrons before 7s ones due to relativistic effects, which confirm copernicium as an undisputed transition metal. Copernicium is also calculated to show a predominance of the oxidation state +4, while mercury shows it in only one compound at extreme conditions and zinc and cadmium do not show it at all. It has also been predicted to be more difficult to oxidise copernicium from its neutral state than the other group 12 elements.

In total, approximately 75 atoms of copernicium have been detected using various nuclear reactions.


Discovery of Copernicium

Copernicium was first made by research scientists led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Heavy Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany in 1996.

Scientists bombarded lead-208 nuclei with zinc-70 nuclei in a heavy ion accelerator.

A single atom of copernicium-277 resulted from the bombardment.

Atoms of copernicium-281, copernicium-281 and copernicium-284 have been recorded more recently as decay products of flerovium.

The element is named after astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus.


Appearance and Characteristics

Harmful effects:

Copernicium is harmful due to its radioactivity.

Characteristics:

• Copernicium is a synthetic radioactive metal and has only been produced in minute amounts.

Uses of Copernicium

• Copernicium is of research interest only.