1982

Meitnerium

• In 1982, the team at Darmstadt
• synthesized one atom of meitnerium-266
• by bombarding bismuth-209
• with iron-58 nuclei.
• The new atom lasted only a moment
• then decayed into an atom of bohrium-262.

Atomic number 109

• The chemistry of meitnerium,
• like the chemistries of other superheavy elements,
• has been predicted based on the properties
• of the elements above it in the periodic table;
• possibly like iridium, rhodium, and cobalt,
• possibly a noble metal in the platinum group;
• however, meitnerium is the lightest element
• whose chemistry has not been tested.

Hypothetical metal

• It would be a heavy metal
• but the longest-lived isotope
• has a half-life of 7.6 seconds.
• Creating and keeping enough of it
• would be impractical or impossible.
• *
• I would be worth my weight in gold
• if I were sufficiently practical.
• I would be strong as John Bunyan
• if I didn’t dislike exercise.