Hassium
Hassium is a chemical element with symbol Hs and atomic number 108, named in honor of the German state of Hesse. It is a synthetic element (an element that can be created in a laboratory but is not found in nature) and radioactive; the most stable known isotope, 269Hs, has a half-life of approximately 9.7 seconds, although an unconfirmed metastable state, 277mHs, may have a longer half-life of about 11 minutes. More than 100 atoms of hassium have been synthesized to date.
In the periodic table of the elements, it is a d-block transactinide element. It is a member of the 7th period and belongs to the group 8 elements. Chemistry experiments have confirmed that hassium behaves as the heavier homologue to osmium in group 8. The chemical properties of hassium are characterized only partly, but they compare well with the chemistry of the other group 8 elements. In bulk quantities, hassium is expected to be a silvery metal that reacts readily with oxygen in the air, forming a volatile tetroxide.
Discovery of Hassium
Hassium was first made by a team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenber at the Heavy Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany in 1984.
They bombarded lead-208 with iron-58 nuclei to produce three atoms of hassium.
The name hassium is derived from the Latin name for the German state of Hesse.
Appearance and Characteristics
Harmful effects:
Hassium is harmful due to its radioactivity.
Characteristics:
- Hassium is a synthetic, radioactive metal and has only been produced in tiny amounts.
Uses of Hassium
- Hassium is of research interest only.
