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Transuranium element
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are Transuranium elements
the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 (the atomic in the periodic table
number of uranium). All of these elements are unstable and decay
radioactively into other elements.

Z > 92
Contents
1 Overview
2 Discovery and naming of transuranium elements
3 List of the transuranic elements
4 Super-heavy elements
5 Applications
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading

Overview
Of the elements with atomic numbers 1 to 92, most can be found in nature, having stable (such as hydrogen), or
very long half-life (such as uranium) isotopes, or are created as common products of the decay of uranium and
thorium (such as radon). The exceptions are elements 43, 61, 85, and 87; all four occur in nature, but only in
very minor branches of the uranium and thorium decay chains, and thus all save element 87 were first
discovered by synthesis in the laboratory rather than in nature (and even element 87 was discovered from
purified samples of its parent, not directly from nature).

All of the elements with higher atomic numbers have been first discovered in the laboratory, with neptunium
and plutonium later also discovered in nature. They are all radioactive, with a half-life much shorter than the
age of the Earth, so any atoms of these elements, if they ever were present at the Earth's formation, have long
since decayed. Trace amounts of neptunium and plutonium form in some uranium-rich rock, and small amounts
are produced during atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons. These two elements are generated from neutron
capture in uranium ore with subsequent beta decays (e.g. 238U + n 239U 239Np 239Pu).

Transuranic elements can be artificially generated synthetic elements, via nuclear reactors or particle
accelerators. The half lives of these elements show a general trend of decreasing as atomic numbers increase.
There are exceptions, however, including several isotopes of curium and dubnium. Further anomalous elements
in this series have been predicted by Glenn T. Seaborg, and are categorised as the island of stability.[1]

Heavy transuranic elements are difficult and expensive to produce, and their prices increase rapidly with atomic
number. As of 2008, the cost of weapons-grade plutonium was around $4,000/gram,[2] and californium
exceeded $60,000,000/gram.[3] Einsteinium is the heaviest transuranic element that has ever been produced in
macroscopic quantities.[4]

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Transuranic elements that have not

been discovered, or have been
discovered but are not yet officially
named, use IUPAC's systematic
element names. The naming of
transuranic elements may be a
source of controversy.

Discovery and naming

of transuranium
elements
So far, essentially all the
transuranium elements have been
discovered at four laboratories:
Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory in the United States Periodic table with elements colored according to the half-life of their most
(elements 93101, 106, and joint stable isotope.
credit for 103105), the Joint Elements which contain at least one stable isotope.
Institute for Nuclear Research in
Slightly radioactive elements: the most stable isotope is very long-lived,
Russia (elements 102 and 114118,
and joint credit for 103105), the with a half-life of over four million years.
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Significantly radioactive elements: the most stable isotope has half-life
Ion Research in Germany (elements between 800 and 34,000 years.
107112), and RIKEN in Japan Radioactive elements: the most stable isotope has half-life between one
(element 113). day and 103 years.
Highly radioactive elements: the most stable isotope has half-life between
The Radiation Laboratory
(now Lawrence Berkeley several minutes and one day.
National Laboratory) at the Extremely radioactive elements: the most stable isotope has half-life less
University of California, than several minutes.
Berkeley, led principally by
Edwin McMillan, Glenn Seaborg, and Albert Ghiorso, during 1945-1974:
93. neptunium, Np, named after the planet Neptune, as it follows uranium and Neptune follows
Uranus in the planetary sequence (1940).
94. plutonium, Pu, named after the dwarf planet Pluto, following the same naming rule as it follows
neptunium and Pluto follows Neptune in the pre-2006 planetary sequence (1940).
95. americium, Am, named because it is an analog to europium, and so was named after the
continent where it was first produced (1944).
96. curium, Cm, named after Pierre and Marie Curie, famous scientists who separated out the first
radioactive elements (1944).
97. berkelium, Bk, named after the city of Berkeley, where the University of California, Berkeley is
located (1949).
98. californium, Cf, named after the state of California, where the university is located (1950).
99. einsteinium, Es, named after the theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1952).
100. fermium, Fm, named after Enrico Fermi, the physicist who produced the first controlled chain
reaction (1952).

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101. mendelevium, Md, named after the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev, credited for being the
primary creator of the periodic table of the chemical elements (1955).
102. nobelium, No, named after Alfred Nobel (1958). This discovery was also claimed by the
JINR, which named it joliotium (Jl) after Frdric Joliot-Curie. IUPAC concluded that the JINR had
been the first to convincingly synthesise the element, but retained the name nobelium as deeply
entrenched in the literature.
103. lawrencium, Lr, named after Ernest O. Lawrence, a physicist best known for development of
the cyclotron, and the person for whom the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (which hosted the creation of these transuranium
elements) are named (1961). This discovery was also claimed by the JINR, which proposed the
name rutherfordium (Rf) after Ernest Rutherford. IUPAC concluded that credit should be shared,
retaining the name lawrencium as entrenched in the literature.
104. rutherfordium, Rf, named after Ernest Rutherford, who was responsible for the concept of the
atomic nucleus (1968). This discovery was also claimed by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research
(JINR) in Dubna, Russia (then the Soviet Union), led principally by Georgy Flyorov: they named
the element kurchatovium (Ku), after Igor Kurchatov. IUPAC concluded that credit should be
shared.
105. dubnium, Db, an element that is named after the city of Dubna, where the JINR is located.
Originally named "hahnium" (Ha) in honor of Otto Hahn by the Berkeley group (1970) but
renamed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. This discovery was also
claimed by the JINR, which named it nielsbohrium (Ns) after Niels Bohr. IUPAC concluded that
credit should be shared.
106. seaborgium, Sg, named after Glenn T. Seaborg. This name caused controversy because
Seaborg was still alive, but eventually became accepted by international chemists (1974). This
discovery was also claimed by the JINR. IUPAC concluded that the Berkeley team had been the
first to convincingly synthesise the element.
The Gesellschaft fr Schwerionenforschung (Society for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Hessen,
Germany, led principally by Peter Armbruster and Sigurd Hofmann, during 1980-2000:
107. bohrium, Bh, named after the Danish physicist Niels Bohr, important in the elucidation of the
structure of the atom (1981). This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. IUPAC concluded that
the GSI had been the first to convincingly synthesise the element.
108. hassium, Hs, named after the Latin form of the name of Hessen, the German Bundesland
where this work was performed (1984). This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. IUPAC
concluded that the GSI had been the first to convincingly synthesise the element, while
acknowledging the pioneering work at the JINR.
109. meitnerium, Mt, named after Lise Meitner, an Austrian physicist who was one of the earliest
scientists to study nuclear fission (1982).
110. darmstadtium, Ds, named after Darmstadt, Germany, the city in which this work was
performed (1994).
111. roentgenium, Rg, named after Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen, discoverer of X-rays (1994).
112. copernicium, Cn, named after astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1996).
Rikagaku Kenkysho (RIKEN) in Wak, Saitama, Japan, led principally by Kosuke Morita:
113. nihonium, Nh, named after Japan (Nihon in Japanese) where the element was discovered.
(2004). This discovery was also claimed by the JINR. IUPAC concluded that RIKEN had been the
first to convincingly synthesise the element.
The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, led principally by Yuri Oganessian, in
collaboration with several other laboratories including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL), since 2000:

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114. flerovium, Fl, named after Soviet physicist Georgy Flyorov, founder of the JINR (2004).
115. moscovium, Mc, named after Moscow Oblast, Russia, where the element was discovered;
116. livermorium, Lv, named after the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a collaborator
with JINR in the discovery, (2004).
117. tennessine, Ts, named after the state of Tennessee, where the berkelium target needed for the
synthesis of the element was manufactured;
118. oganesson, Og, named after Yuri Oganessian, who led the JINR team in its discovery of
elements 114 to 118.

List of the transuranic elements

Actinides Transactinide elements Period 8 elements (not yet discovered)

93 neptunium Np 104 rutherfordium Rf 119 ununennium Uue*
94 plutonium Pu 105 dubnium Db 120 unbinilium Ubn*
95 americium Am 106 seaborgium Sg 121 unbiunium Ubu*
96 curium Cm 107 bohrium Bh ...
97 berkelium Bk 108 hassium Hs
98 californium Cf 109 meitnerium Mt
99 einsteinium Es 110 darmstadtium Ds
100 fermium Fm 111 roentgenium Rg
101 mendelevium Md 112 copernicium Cn
102 nobelium No 113 nihonium Nh
103 lawrencium Lr 114 flerovium Fl
115 moscovium Mc
116 livermorium Lv
117 tennessine Ts
118 oganesson Og

Super-heavy elements
Super-heavy elements, (also known as super heavy atoms,
commonly abbreviated SHE) usually refer to the transactinide
elements beginning with rutherfordium (atomic number 104). They
have only been made artificially, and currently serve no practical
purpose because their short half-lives cause them to decay after a
very short time, ranging from a few minutes to just a few
milliseconds (except for dubnium, which has a half life of over a
day), which also makes them extremely hard to study.[5][6]
Position of the transactinide elements in
Super-heavy atoms have all been created since the latter half of the the periodic table.
20th century, and are continually being created during the 21st
century as technology advances. They are created through the
bombardment of elements in a particle accelerator. For example, the nuclear fusion of californium-249 and
carbon-12 creates rutherfordium-261. These elements are created in quantities on the atomic scale and no
method of mass creation has been found.[5]

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Applications
Transuranium elements may be utilized to synthesize other super-heavy elements.[7] Elements of the island of
stability have potential important military applications, including the development of compact nuclear
weapons.[8] The potential every-day applications are vast; the element americium is utilized in devices like
smoke detectors and spectrometers.[9][10]

See also
BoseEinstein condensate (also known as Superatom)
Island of stability
Minor actinide
Deep geological repository, a place to deposit transuranic waste

References
1. Considine, Glenn, ed. (2002). Van Nostrand's
Scientific Encyclopedia (9th ed.). New York: Wiley
Interscience. p. 738. ISBN 0-471-33230-5.
2. "Price of Plutonium" (http://hypertextbook.com/facts
/2008/AndrewMorel.shtml). The Physics Factbook.
3. Rodger C. Martin and Steven E. Kos. "Applications
and Availability of Californium-252 Neutron Sources
for Waste Characterization" (http://www.ornl.gov
/~webworks/cpr/pres/108701_.pdf) (pdf).
4. Silva, Robert J. (2006). "Fermium, Mendelevium,
Nobelium and Lawrencium". In Morss; Edelstein,
Norman M.; Fuger, Jean. The Chemistry of the
Actinide and Transactinide Elements (3rd ed.).
Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer
Science+Business Media. ISBN 1-4020-3555-1.
5. Heenen, P. H.; Nazarewicz, W. (2002). "Quest for
superheavy nuclei". Europhysics News. 33: 5.
Bibcode:2002ENews..33....5H
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002ENews..33....5H).
doi:10.1051/epn:2002102 (https://doi.org
/10.1051%2Fepn%3A2002102).
6. Greenwood, N. N. (1997). "Recent developments
concerning the discovery of elements 100111". Pure
and Applied Chemistry. 69: 179.
doi:10.1351/pac199769010179 (https://doi.org
/10.1351%2Fpac199769010179).
7. Lougheed, R. W.; Landrum, J. H.; Hulet, E. K.; Wild,
J. F.; Dougan, R. J.; Dougan, A. D.; Gggeler, H.;
Schdel, M.; Moody, K. J.; Gregorich, K. E. &
Seaborg, G. T. (1985). "Search for superheavy
elements using 48Ca + 254Esg reaction". Physical
Review C. 32 (5): 17601763.
Bibcode:1985PhRvC..32.1760L
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu
/abs/1985PhRvC..32.1760L).
doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.32.1760 (https://doi.org
/10.1103%2FPhysRevC.32.1760).
8. Gsponer, Andre and Hurni, Jean-Pierre (1997). The
physical principles of thermonuclear explosives,
inertial confinement fusion, and the quest for fourth
generation nuclear weapons. International Network
of Engineers and Scientists against Proliferation.
pp. 129133.
9. "Smoke Detectors and Americium"
(http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020911070229
/http%3A//www%2Euic%2Ecom%2Eau
/nip35%2Ehtm), Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper, 35,
May 2002, archived from the original
(http://www.uic.com.au/nip35.htm) on 11 September
2002, retrieved 2015-08-26
10. Nuclear Data Viewer 2.4 (http://www.nndc.bnl.gov
/nudat2/indx_dec.jsp), NNDC

Further reading
Eric Scerri, A Very Short Introduction to the Periodic Table, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011.
The Superheavy Elements (http://www.scitopics.com/The_Superheavy_Elements.html)
Annotated bibliography for the transuranic elements (http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=science
/Transuranium+Elements) from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues.

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Transuranium elements (http://web.fccj.org/~ethall/uranium/uranium.htm)

Super Heavy Elements network official website (http://www.transfermium.net/) (network of the European
integrated infrastructure initiative EURONS)
Darmstadtium and beyond (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/80th/darmstadtium.html)
Christian Schnier, Joachim Feuerborn, Bong-Jun Lee: Traces of transuranium elements in terrestrial
minerals? (Online (ftp://ftp.hzg.de/pub/schnier/1-Transuranium%20.pdf), PDF-Datei, 493 kB)
Christian Schnier, Joachim Feuerborn, Bong-Jun Lee: The search for super heavy elements (SHE) in
terrestrial minerals using XRF with high energy synchrotron radiation. (Online (ftp://ftp.hzg.de
/pub/schnier/2-SHE.pdf), PDF-Datei, 446 kB)

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