The Elements—Periodic Table

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing Flinn Scientific’s The Elements—Periodic Table! The following is a list of information pertaining to the elements in this periodic table.

Background

For each element, the atomic number, name, atomic weight (AW), melting point (MP) in °C, boiling point (BP) in °C and the density (D) in g/cc is listed. The approximate size of the sample shown on this periodic table, in inches, is also listed for a sense of scale. Some samples are very small, some are very big, but all of them are interesting.

1 HYDROGEN AW 1.00794 MP –259.14 BP –252.87 D 0.00009 Size 15 Ltyr

By weight, 75% of the visible universe is hydrogen, a colorless gas. In space, vast quantities interact with starlight to create spectacular sights such as the Eagle Nebula (seen by the Hubble Space Telescope).

2 HELIUM AW 4.0026 MP –272.2 BP –268.93 D 0.0001785 Size 4"

Ordinarily a colorless, inert gas, helium glows pale peach when an electric current runs through it. A glass blower bent a tube to the shape of the letters He and filled it with pure helium. It was lit with high voltage.

3 LITHIUM AW 6.941 MP 180.54 BP 1342 D 0.535 Size 0.75"

The lightest metal, lithium easily floats on water, which it reacts with, skittering around releasing hydrogen gas. It’s soft enough to cut with hand shears, leaving marks such as you see on this sample.

4 BERYLLIUM AW 9.01218 MP 1287 BP 2470 D 1.848 Size 0.4"

This pure broken crystal of refined beryllium ordinarily would be melted down and turned into strong, lightweight parts for missiles and spacecraft. It is expensive and toxic, but unbeatable when cost is no object.

5 BORON AW 10.811 MP 2075 BP 4000 D 2.46 Size 0.75"

Boron is found in the common mineral borax, but is rarely seen in pure form, as in these polycrystalline lumps. While extremely hard, boron is too brittle in pure form to have any practical applications.

6 CARBON AW 12.0107 MP 3550 BP 4027 D 2.26 Size 0.25"

A diamond is forever, unless you heat it too much and it burns up into carbon dioxide gas. Graphite is also pure carbon and widely used in pencils, but not nearly as pretty. In this poster, pretty trumps practical.

7 NITROGEN AW 14.0067 MP –210.1 BP –195.79 D 0.001251 Size 6"

Colorless nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the atmosphere, but here we see it in liquid form at –196 °C. It is boiling off, creating a visible vapor—not of steam, but of water condensed from the surrounding air.

8 OXYGEN AW 15.9994 MP –218.3 BP –182.9 D 0.001429 Size 8"

At –183.0 °C oxygen is a beautiful pale blue liquid, but at room temperature it is a colorless gas. It’s only 21% of the atmosphere—the 21% we all need if we want to live more than a few minutes longer.

9 FLUORINE AW 18.9984 MP –219.6 BP –188.12 D 0.001696 Size 0.2"

Fluorine is a pale yellow gas that reacts violently with virtually everything, including glass. There’s probably some in this fused quartz bulb (if it hasn’t eaten its way out yet).

10 NEON AW 20.1797 MP –248.59 BP –246.08 D 0.0009 Size 4"

Neon signs really are made with neon, like this Ne–shaped tube filled with this inert gas. A high voltage transformer sends an electric current through the tube, creating a characteristic bright neon–red arc.

11 SODIUM AW 22.9898 MP 97.72 BP 883 D 0.968 Size 1"

These soft, silvery sodium chunks were cut with a knife and stored under oil. In air they turn white in seconds; exposed to water they generate hydrogen gas and explode in flaming balls of molten sodium.

12 MAGNESIUM AW 24.305 MP 650 BP 1090 D 1.738 Size 2.5"

These magnesium nodules grow during the refining process. Usually they are melted down into useful products, such as lightweight race car components and fire starters. Thin strips light easily and burn brightly.

13 ALUMINUM AW 26.9815 MP 660.32 BP 2519 D 2.7 Size 1"

These nodules were created by pouring molten aluminum into a bucket of water. There was no reason to do this other than the desire to create a sample to photograph for a certain periodic table poster.

14 SILICON AW 28.0855 MP 1414 BP 2900 D 2.33 Size 6"

The first stage of silicon refining produces this irregular blob. After additional purification the silicon is grown into large single crystals to be cut into wafers, after which computer chips are etched onto the surface.

15 PHOSPHORUS AW 30.9738 MP 44.2 BP 280.5 D 1.823 Size 0.1"

Phosphorus occurs in white (extremely dangerous), red (safer and common in matches) and black (rare, most stable) forms. This exotic violet form is a mixture of red and black, not a true allotrope itself.

16 SULFUR AW 32.065 MP 115.21 BP 444.72 D 1.96 Size 1"

Sulfur is one of the few elements found pure in nature. This “native” sulfur is probably of volcanic origin. Also called brimstone, it oxidizes and is responsible for the characteristic smell of many volcanoes.

17 CHLORINE AW 35.453 MP –101.5 BP –34.04 D 0.003214 Size 3"

A pale yellow-green gas, chlorine killed soldiers in WWI. Today it mainly purifies drinking water and swimming pools. Combined with sodium, chlorine makes common table salt and is thus essential to life.

18 ARGON AW 39.948 MP –189.3 BP –185.8 D 0.001784 Size 4"

A noble gas, argon is inert and colorless until an electric current excites it to a rich sky-blue glow. As one of the least expensive noble gases, dense argon is often used as a shield gas to protect against oxidation.

19 POTASSIUM AW 39.0983 MP 63.38 BP 759 D 0.856 Size 1"

The purple tint on these soft potassium cubes is a very thin oxide coating. Exposed to air they turn black in seconds. Exposed to water they would explode, sending off characteristic purple-red flaming drops.

20 CALCIUM AW 40.078 MP 842 BP 1484 D 1.55 Size 1"

Say calcium and most people think of chalk and bones, but in pure form it is a firm, silvery metal that reacts slowly with water to give off hydrogen gas. Pure metallic calcium has few applications and is rarely seen.

21 SCANDIUM AW 44.9559 MP 1541 BP 2830 D 2.985 Size 0.2"

These vacuum distilled scandium crystals are destined for use in daylight spectrum metal halide arc lights. A few percent of scandium strengthens aluminum for bicycle frames and baseball bats.

22 TITANIUM AW 47.867 MP 1668 BP 3287 D 4.507 Size 6"

This titanium blisk (bladed impeller disk) is from the intake stage of a jet engine, where the light weight and high strength of titanium are key. Titanium is expensive because it must be cast under inert atmosphere.

23 VANADIUM AW 50.9415 MP 1910 BP 3407 D 6.11 Size 0.2"

This curl of vanadium was cut from a cylinder on a lathe. A few percent of vanadium in steel creates hard, tough alloys, but the pure metal has few applications. Traces of it give emerald a green color.

24 CHROMIUM AW 51.9961 MP 1907 BP 2671 D 7.14 Size 0.75"

Many shiny things are chrome-plated; these chips show the result if you keep plating until a thick slab is built up. This process, called electrowinning, is how high-purity chromium is obtained from solution.

25 MANGANESE AW 54.938 MP 1246 BP 2061 D 7.47 Size 0.5"

These rough slabs are created by electroplating manganese out of a solution until enough metal builds up to break off. The bumpy surface occurs naturally as the current finds the path of least resistance.

26 IRON AW 55.845 MP 1538 BP 2861 D 7.874 Size 5"

This meteorite, part of one that fell in Xiquipilco, Mexico in ancient times, is made mostly of iron. Locals created iron tools from it for generations before the first samples made their way out in the 1700s.

27 COBALT AW 58.9332 MP 1495 BP 2927 D 8.9 Size 1"

Cobalt is used in pigments, notably cobalt blue, and in high-strength, high-temperature steel alloys. High purity cobalt is obtained by electrolyzing cobalt ions out of solution, resulting in a bumpy plate like this.

28 NICKEL AW 58.6934 MP 1455 BP 2913 D 8.908 Size 1"

These buttons, created by electrowinning, are the main form in which pure nickel is sold commercially. A typical use is in electroplating baths, where they are slowly dissolved and redeposited on products.

29 COPPER AW 63.546 MP 1084.62 BP 2927 D 8.92 Size 2"

Copper is incredibly useful in industry for wiring, heat sinks and coins and in brass and bronze alloys. But this sample is completely useless; it’s simply a pretty hand-hammered ball, pleasant to hold and behold.

30 ZINC AW 65.409 MP 419.53 BP 907 D 7.14 Size 1"

Sacrificial zinc anodes are used to protect steel tanks, rails and ship hulls from rusting. Since zinc oxidizes more easily than iron, it corrodes first. When the anode is mostly consumed, it can simply be replaced.

31 GALLIUM AW 69.723 MP 29.76 BP 2204 D 5.904 Size 1"

Pick up gallium and it will melt in your hand: it liquefies at slightly above room temperature. A hair dryer created this Daliesque cube. Alloys of gallium, indium and tin are replacing mercury in thermometers.

32 GERMANIUM AW 72.64 MP 938.3 BP 2820 D 5.323 Size 2"

Bulk commercial germanium is sold in ingot bars: This is the broken end of one, showing its internal crystal structure. Germanium is used in light emitting diodes and semiconductors, just like silicon above it.

33 ARSENIC AW 74.9216 MP 817 BP 614 D 5.727 Size 0.4"

Arsenic was the poison of choice until its detection became easy. Combined with gallium it forms a semiconductor used in creating high-speed integrated circuits for supercomputers and cell phones.

34 SELENIUM AW 78.96 MP 221 BP 685 D 4.819 Size 0.2"

Selenium occurs in (fairly) pure form in nature. This native selenium is exactly as it came out of the ground. It is used in many light-sensing applications: photocopiers, automatic light switches and light meters.

35 BROMINE AW 79.904 MP –7.3 BP 59 D 3.12 Size 3"

Bromine is liquid at room temperature but evaporates very rapidly into a purple-brown, choking gas that smells rather like chlorine. Sodium bromide, the bromine analog of table salt, is often used in hot tubs.

36 KRYPTON AW 83.798 MP –157.36 BP –153.22 D 0.00375 Size 4"

Krypton is inert but glows a lovely pale mauve color when excited with a high voltage electric current. Expensive incandescent bulbs use krypton as a filler gas due to its high thermal conductivity.

37 RUBIDIUM AW 85.4678 MP 39.31 BP 688 D 1.532 Size 0.5"

This ampule contains a gram of highly reactive rubidium metal. Broken open it would catch fire rapidly. Rubidium is commonly used in cheaper atomic clocks (the most accurate ones use cesium).

38 STRONTIUM AW 87.62 MP 777 BP 1382 D 2.63 Size 1"

Strontium is often thought of as radioactive, because Sr-90 is a component of nuclear fallout. In fact normal strontium is not radioactive and is used in household products such as safe glow-in-the-dark paint.

39 YTTRIUM AW 88.9059 MP 1526 BP 3345 D 4.472 Size 0.2"

Yttrium is rarely seen in pure form and has no applications as a metal. Yttrium–aluminum–garnet (YAG) is important in lasers and yttrium is also used in the phosphors of color television sets (the old CRT kind).

40 ZIRCONIUM AW 91.224 MP 1855 BP 4409 D 6.511 Size 5"

This spectacular crystal bar of pure zirconium was created by thermal decomposition of zirconium iodide. Important in the nuclear industry, zirconium’s latest application is in body-piercing jewelry.

41 NIOBIUM AW 92.9064 MP 2477 BP 4744 D 8.57 Size 2"

This is high purity niobium crystal ribbon from Russia. New methods have made this form obsolete, and most was melted down. It is used in earrings and tongue studs because it can be colored by oxidation.

42 MOLYBDENUM AW 95.94 MP 2623 BP 4639 D 10.28 Size 2"

Pure molybdenum is used in specialized high temperature applications because it maintains its strength better than molybdenum steel, a common high-strength alloy. Large pure bars like this are unusual.

43 TECHNETIUM AW 98 MP 2157 BP 4265 D 11.5 Size 8"

Technetium is a radioactive element, the only one in this area of the periodic table. Short-lived isotopes are used in gamma ray imaging of the skeleton since it attaches itself to areas of active bone growth.

44 RUTHENIUM AW 101.07 MP 2334 BP 4150 D 12.37 Size 0.2"

This button of pure solid ruthenium was created by the easiest known method—melting ruthenium powder in an argon-arc furnace. Jewelry is often ruthenium-plated when a dark, pewter-colored shine is desired.

45 RHODIUM AW 102.906 MP 1964 BP 3695 D 12.45 Size 0.2"

Rhodium is very expensive, yet cheap jewelry is often rhodium-plated because so little is needed to make an opaque, super shiny coating. Solid rhodium jewelry is never seen: it would be impossibly costly.

46 PALLADIUM AW 106.42 MP 1554.9 BP 2963 D 12.023 Size 0.2"

Palladium is far more expensive than silver, yet it is sometimes used to imitate silver in outdoor situations because it does not tarnish. Side by side with silver, palladium is distinctly darker and more yellow.

47 SILVER AW 107.868 MP 961.78 BP 2162 D 10.49 Size 1"

Silver has been used in coins since antiquity: This tetradrachm is from Greece, 261 BC, and is about 95% pure. In 0 ad this coin was older than the United States is today.

48 CADMIUM AW 112.411 MP 321.07 BP 767 D 8.65 Size 3"

Fish are not normally cast out of pure cadmium, but if you’re making a periodic table poster, why not? The hint of yellow is a bit of cadmium oxide, a favorite pigment of the impressionist painters, notably Monet.

49 INDIUM AW 114.818 MP 156.6 BP 2072 D 7.31 Size 2.5"

The commercial unit of trade for indium is the one-kilogram bar, which is a lot of indium. Its major uses are in low–melting point alloys that replace mercury in thermometers, and in flat screen televisions.

50 TIN AW 118.71 MP 231.93 BP 2602 D 7.31 Size 2.5"

The classic tin soldier was sometimes made of pure tin, but more often tin-lead or lead-antimony alloys, or—shudder—just plastic. This one is cast out of 99.99% pure tin in an antique mold meant for kids to use.

51 ANTIMONY AW 121.76 MP 630.63 BP 1587 D 6.697 Size 1.5"

Beautiful, sparkling lumps of broken crystal like this are how bulk antimony is commonly sold. Most of it is melted down and added to lead to make bullets and batteries or alloyed with other metals.

52 TELLURIUM AW 127.6 MP 449.51 BP 988 D 6.24 Size 1"

Tellurium is hardly ever used in pure form, but these beautiful slender crystals are how it is distributed. Research is hindered by the fact that if you absorb even tiny amounts, you smell of garlic for months.

53 IODINE AW 126.904 MP 113.7 BP 184.3 D 4.94 Size 1"

Iodine sublimates into a beautiful violet vapor when heated: There’s a torch under the plate in this photo. Iodine and iodine solutions were used as disinfectants before better antiseptic agents were found.

54 XENON AW 131.293 MP –111.8 BP –108 D 0.0059 Size 4"

The xenon gas in this tube is being excited by a high voltage discharge, creating a lovely pale violet glow. Xenon-filled tubes driven by high voltage capacitors are the basis for modern photographic flashes.

55 CESIUM AW 132.905 MP 28.44 BP 671 D 1.879 Size 0.5"

The cesium in this ampule melts if you hold it in your hand for a minute, yielding the prettiest liquid gold. If the ampule were to break in your hand, the resulting explosion would be extremely unpleasant.

56 BARIUM AW 137.327 MP 727 BP 1870 D 3.51 Size 0.3"

Barium makes many people think of enemas, unfortunately. They’re recalling barium sulfate, an excellent X-ray contrast medium. Barium in pure form is a metal, used as a “getter” in high-vacuum components.

57 LANTHANUM AW 138.906 MP 920 BP 3464 D 6.146 Size 1.5"

Mixed with other rare earths lanthanum is used in flints for lighters. Lanthanum compounds are used in electron microscopy to resolve individual atoms and in movie lighting to illuminate vast areas.

58 CERIUM AW 140.116 MP 798 BP 3360 D 6.689 Size 0.5"

Cerium is one of the least expensive rare earths and is the major component of “mischmetal,” used in lighter flints because it catches fire easily when struck. Larger blocks are used for sparking special effects.

59 PRASEODYMIUM AW 140.908 MP 931 BP 3290 D 6.64 Size 0.4"

Metallic praseodymium like this is not much used, but when mixed into glass it provides a precise blue color that filters out the yellow glow of molten glass, allowing glassblowers to see their work clearly.

60 NEODYMIUM AW 144.24 MP 1021 BP 3100 D 7.01 Size 0.75"

Neodymium-iron-boron alloys are the basis for the most powerful permanent magnets, used in headphones, disk drives and motors and commonly known as neodymium magnets or rare earth magnets.

61 PROMETHIUM AW 145 MP 1100 BP 3000 D 7.264 Size 0.4"

Naturally radioactive promethium was briefly used as a replacement for radium in self-luminous paint, before tritium took over. This button was produced using leftover stock kept for making diving watches.

62 SAMARIUM AW 150.36 MP 1072 BP 1803 D 7.353 Size 1"

Samarium-cobalt magnets made possible the first lightweight headphones, but have been replaced by neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which are even stronger. The metal in pure form has few applications.

63 EUROPIUM AW 151.964 MP 822 BP 1527 D 5.244 Size 1"

Europium compounds are widely used in phosphors for cathode ray TV screens and in compact fluorescent bulbs. Pure crystals like this are useful only as a source of europium to be turned into compounds.

64 GADOLINIUM AW 157.25 MP 1313 BP 3250 D 7.901 Size 0.2"

Gadolinium compounds (not metal like this) are injected into patients receiving MRI scans to improve contrast. Several isotopes are also mixed with uranium fuel in nuclear reactors to absorb neutrons.

65 TERBIUM AW 158.925 MP 1356 BP 3230 D 8.219 Size 0.5"

Terbium is a vital ingredient of magnetorestrictive alloys, ones that change length when exposed to a magnetic field. Such alloys are used in loudspeakers designed to push against solids rather than against air.

66 DYSPROSIUM AW 162.5 MP 1412 BP 2567 D 8.551 Size 0.2"

Dysprosium compounds are used in the coatings of many hard disk drives to record digital data as field orientations in nanoscale magnetic domains. Other than that, dysprosium has few applications.

67 HOLMIUM AW 164.93 MP 1474 BP 2700 D 8.795 Size 0.5"

Holmium is yet another rare earth lanthanide with important magnetic properties. It finds application in the pole pieces of the powerful magnets used for medical imaging.

68 ERBIUM AW 167.259 MP 1497 BP 2868 D 9.066 Size 0.5"

Erbium is used to dope fiber optic cables to improve their information-carrying capability, which it does by helping to amplify the signal. It can also impart interesting colors to pottery glazes.

69 THULIUM AW 168.934 MP 1545 BP 1950 D 9.321 Size 0.75"

Thulium is among the most obscure elements in the periodic table. It has very few applications. Some people consider it the most useless of all naturally occurring elements, though others will rush to its defense.

70 YTTERBIUM AW 173.04 MP 819 BP 1196 D 6.57 Size 0.75"

Ytterbium has useful catalytic properties and is finding increasing use in the chemical industry due to its low toxicity and relative abundance. It is the last of four elements named after the town of Ytterby, Sweden.

71 LUTETIUM AW 174.967 MP 1663 BP 3402 D 9.841 Size 1.2"

Lutetium has almost no applications. As a result it used to be the most expensive element in the world. These days it is easily available as a biproduct of other lanthanide production and its price has fallen.

72 HAFNIUM AW 178.49 MP 2233 BP 4603 D 13.31 Size 2"

This remarkable image shows the inside surface of a huge high-purity hafnium crystal bar from Russia. The vapor deposition process used to make this bar yields the purest hafnium known.

73 TANTALUM AW 180.948 MP 3017 BP 5458 D 16.65 Size 2"

Tiny amounts of tantalum are used in the capacitors in all high tech devices. This slab would be enough for thousands of cell phones and laptop computers. It’s also used for medical implants like skull plates.

74 TUNGSTEN AW 183.84 MP 3422 BP 5555 D 19.25 Size 0.4"

Tungsten is extremely hard to melt, so when large pieces are needed it is often sintered into solid form from loose powder, like this cube. The biggest application by far is tungsten wire for incandescent lightbulbs.

75 RHENIUM AW 186.207 MP 3186 BP 5596 D 21.02 Size 4"

This is quite a lot of rhenium, and it’s not clear why anyone would make such a thick, heavy bar of it. Typical uses involve thin wires, fine powders or chemical compounds, not half-inch-square solid bars.

76 OSMIUM AW 190.23 MP 3033 BP 5012 D 22.61 Size 0.2"

Ultradense osmium is alloyed with other precious metals to make them harder and stronger. It sometimes occurs naturally combined with iridium, and such osmiridium mixtures are used in fountain pen tips.

77 IRIDIUM AW 192.217 MP 2466 BP 4428 D 22.65 Size 0.5"

Iridium is extremely hard to melt. This lump only made it about halfway to being melted, hence its odd shape. This property of iridium makes it useful in high-temperature situations, such as spark plug electrodes.

78 PLATINUM AW 195.078 MP 1768.3 BP 3825 D 21.09 Size 1.5"

Pure platinum mesh, like mosquito netting except more expensive, is one example of platinum’s use as labware impervious to nearly all chemical attack. It is also used in coins, which are similarly expensive.

79 GOLD AW 196.967 MP 1064.18 BP 2856 D 19.3 Size 0.75"

Gold is one of the few elements you can find just lying on the ground. This one-ounce nugget of pure gold was found in Alaska in 1890 by Hogamorth Marion while on a trip to sell shoes to Eskimos. Seriously.

80 MERCURY AW 200.59 MP –38.83 BP 356.73 D 13.534 Size 2"

Mercury is the only metal element liquid at room temperature. It would be great fun to play with if it weren’t so poisonous. This pool was shaped by carefully bending the black-painted foil it was resting on.

81 THALLIUM AW 204.383 MP 304 BP 1473 D 11.85 Size 1.25"

Thallium was used in a few murders before people caught on to its characteristic symptoms. This sizable lump could do in quite a few people, but isn’t it pretty? The colors are from layers of thallium oxide.

82 LEAD AW 207.2 MP 327.46 BP 1749 D 11.34 Size 8"

Lead pipes have been in use for thousands of years. In some cases the same pipe the whole time. This exotic six-way union was handmade by an apprentice decades ago, and it duly impressed the master.

83 BISMUTH AW 208.98 MP 271.3 BP 1564 D 9.78 Size 4"

Bismuth loves to form beautiful crystals. You can make small ones without even trying, but one this big requires very pure bismuth and careful control of the cooling rate as the crystal is formed.

84 POLONIUM AW 209 MP 254 BP 962 D 9.196 Size 1"

Radioactive polonium foil is used in antistatic brushes as an electron source. The foil is silver with a thin plating of polonium and an even thinner plating of gold over that. The gold is what you actually see.

85 ASTATINE AW 210 MP 302 Size 1.5"

Astatine occurs in vanishingly small quantities in the natural decay chains of uranium and thorium minerals. You can’t see any of it in this rock, but a few atoms are (probably) there from time to time.

86 RADON AW 222 MP –71 BP –61.7 D 0.00973 Size 10"

Radon is an invisible, radioactive gas, thus hard to photograph. This granite ball reminds us that the source of most radon in people’s basements is the decay of traces of uranium and thorium in bedrock.

87 FRANCIUM AW 223 Size 0.5"

Uranium and thorium minerals produce francium in vanishingly small quantities via their natural radioisotope decay chains. At most a few atoms at a time exist in a rock like this, and you can’t see any of them.

88 RADIUM AW 226 MP 700 BP 1737 D 5 Size 1.25"

Radium was widely used in self-luminous clock and watch hands, until too many watch factory workers had died of it. This antique watch is still quite radioactive, and will stay that way for thousands of years.

89 ACTINIUM AW 227 MP 1050 BP 3200 D 10.07 Size 0.5"

Invisibly tiny amounts of actinium occur in some radioactive minerals, hence this picture of a radioactive rock. Actinium is used in thermoelectric generators, where its short half-life lets it generate intense heat.

90 THORIUM AW 232.038 MP 1750 BP 4820 D 11.724 Size 1"

This foil is what remained after useful shapes were stamped out, but what those shapes were useful for remains a mystery. Pure thorium metal like this is quite rare and not easily obtained.

91 PROTACTINIUM AW 231.036 MP 1572 BP 4000 D 15.37 Size 1.5"

Protactinium occurs in vanishingly small quantities in the natural decay chains of uranium and thorium minerals. At most a few atoms at a time exist in a rock like this, and you can’t see any of them.

92 URANIUM AW 238.029 MP 1135 BP 3927 D 19.05 Size 0.75"

This is a chunk of depleted uranium metal, which is used in armor-piercing ammunition and counterweights. Only 20% less radioactive than natural uranium, it creates deadly hazards when used in anger.

93 NEPTUNIUM AW 237 MP 644 BP 4000 D 20.45 Size 1.5"

Traces of neptunium have been found in uranium minerals like this sample, but not enough that you could ever see it. Neptunium is highly radioactive and has only a few exotic applications in nuclear research.

94 PLUTONIUM AW 244 MP 640 BP 3230 D 19.816 Size 1.5"

This plutonium pacemaker battery case is empty—fortunately. If it were full, possession of it anywhere outside a body would be a crime. All no-longer-needed plutonium batteries must go home to Los Alamos.

95 AMERICIUM AW 243 MP 1176 BP 2011 Size 0.075"

A radioactive button like this is inside most smoke detectors. A trace of americium creates charged particles that betray the smoke. Americium is thus the only man-made element available in grocery stores.

96 CURIUM AW 247 MP 1345 BP 3110 D 13.51

Curium is named after Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered radium and polonium, but not curium. It has some specialized applications in research, but is not generally available outside a few institutions.

97 BERKELIUM AW 247 MP 1050 D 14.78

Berkelium is named after its place of discovery—the University of California at Berkeley. It has no applications, and, while an isotope with a half-life of 1380 years exists, no one seems to be making any.

98 CALIFORNIUM AW 251 MP 900 D 15.1

Californium is named after the state of California, home of UC Berkeley where it was discovered. It is used as a convenient portable neutron source for detection of precious metals and in oil well logging.

99 EINSTEINIUM AW 252 MP 860

The most famous scientist of all time, Albert Einstein, obviously deserves to have an element named after him. Unfortunately his has a half-life of 472 days and no known applications. Better luck next time?

100 FERMIUM AW 257 MP 1527

Fermium, named for physicist Enrico Fermi, has a half-life of 11 days and no applications. Fermi worked to create the first nuclear chain reaction in a squash court under the University of Chicago stadium.

101 MENDELEVIUM AW 258 MP 827

Mendelevium lives for 51 days and has no uses. Dmitri Mendeleev invented the periodic table and lives forever. So far all of the elements named after people have proved to be less important than the people.

102 NOBELIUM AW 259 MP 827

Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize but never got one himself. At least he now has an element, although with a half-life of 12.6 hours and no applications his is not one of the more distinguished elements.

103 LAWRENCIUM AW 262 MP 1627

Lawrencium, named for atom smasher Ernest Lawrence of South Dakota, is the last element with a half-life longer than an hour (3.6 hours to be exact). From here on out the elements get pretty sketchy.

104 RUTHERFORDIUM AW 261

Rutherfordium, half-life 65 seconds, is one of two elements in a row named after an Ernest (Rutherford in this case). Sorry, I can’t say much more about it—except that none is likely to exist right now.

105 DUBNIUM AW 262

Dubna, Russia, hosts one of the few institutions creating new elements. It took a while, but after some lobbying they have their own element, just like Berkeley. But Berkeley has its state and country, too.

106 SEABORGIUM AW 266

Glenn T. Seaborg was the first person ever to have an element named after him while he was still alive. He was responsible for discovering nearly a dozen super-heavy elements, making this a fitting honor.

107 BOHRIUM AW 264

Bohrium is not boring, it’s just named after Niels Bohr, who figured out the electron structure of atoms and thus explained the periodic table.

108 HASSIUM AW 277

Hassium is named for Hessen, the state in Germany that is home to the institute at which it was discovered. It has a half-life of a few seconds, which is to say there’s never been much of it, and there isn’t any right now.

109 MEITNERIUM AW 268

Lise Meitner did not share the Nobel Prize for atomic fission with Otto Hahn, as many thought she should have, but she did get the last laugh—her own element, a far less fleeting honor than a mere Nobel.

110 DARMSTADTIUM AW 281

Darmstadt is the latest city to get an element named after itself. Not many more are in the running, since you need to build huge nuclear accelerators, and elements get harder to make the higher you go.

111 ROENTGENIUM AW 272

Roentgenium is named for Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered X-rays. His element is highly radioactive, but disappointingly it does not, despite its name, emit X-rays when it decays.

112 COPERNICIUM AW 285

Fitting that pivotal astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus should have an element named after him. This extremely radioactive synthetic chemical element has a half-life of approximately 29 seconds.

113 NIHONIUM AW 284

Nihonium is an extremely radioactive element with a half-life of about 10 seconds. It is named for the Japanese name for Japan (Nihon) because of the team of Japanese scientists who first observed it.

114 FLEROVIUM AW 289

This is a super-heavy and extremely radioactive artificial chemical element. The most stable known isotope has a half-life of around 2.6 seconds. It is named after the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, which honors Russian physicist Georgy Flyorov.

115 MOSCOVIUM AW 288

Moscovium was first synthesized in 2003 by a joint team of Russian and American scientists at JINR in Dubna, Russia, and is named after the Moscow Oblast in which the JINR is situated. The most stable known isotope of this extremely radioactive element has a half-life of only 0.8 seconds.

116 LIVERMORIUM AW 292

This extremely radioactive element has only been created in the laboratory and not been observed in nature. It is named after Livermore, California, home of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which collaborated with the JINR to discover it. The longest lived isotope has a half-life of about 60 milliseconds.

117 TENNESSINE AW 294

Tennessine is the second-heaviest known element with synthesized atoms that have lasted tens and hundreds of milliseconds. Its discovery came about in Tennessee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory by a joint Russian–American collaboration.

118 OGANESSON AW 294

Very unstable, Oganesson was first synthesized in 2002 at JINR by a joint team of Russian and American scientists. It is named to honor nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian, who played a leading role in the discovery of the heaviest elements in the periodic table and is still alive today.

Discussion

As of early 2007, elements 112 through 118 (except 117) have been discovered, but permanent names have not yet been assigned pending agreement on who gets to name them. The current names are placeholders based on the Latin forms of the atomic number (e.g., un-un-quad-ium for 114).

Physical constants (e.g., melting point, boiling point) are not known for many of the higher elements because not enough mass of these elements has been created to allow such measurements, and because they have such short half-lives (counted in seconds) that measuring physical properties would be impossible even if enough could be made. In many cases only a few atoms have ever been created. So far, they are all very short-lived laboratory curiosities with no practical applications.

References

Special thanks to Theodore W. Gray, RGB Research, Ltd., for the information provided here. All but a few of the pictures on this periodic table were taken by Theodore. More information about each element may be found at Mr. Gray’s website periodictable.com.