Hassium

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Apparatus for creation of superheavy elements en

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GSI, Darmstadt, Juli 2015 (4)

Coat of arms of Hesse

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Energy levels of outermost orbitals of Hs and Os

Hassium is a chemical element with the symbol Hs and atomic number 108. It is a synthetic element, and thus it is not found in nature but must be created in a laboratory. Hassium is named after the German state of Hesse, where it was first synthesized in 1984 by a team of scientists led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany.

Properties

Hassium is a member of the transactinide elements and the 7th period in the Periodic Table. It belongs to the group 8 elements, sharing this group with iron, ruthenium, and osmium. Being a synthetic element, hassium can only be produced in particle accelerators by bombarding heavier elements with lighter ones. Due to its extremely short half-life, studying the properties of hassium is challenging, and much of what is known about it comes from theoretical models.

Physical and Chemical

The physical and chemical properties of hassium are not well-characterized due to its short half-life and the tiny amounts in which it is produced. However, it is expected to be a metal with properties similar to those of other group 8 elements. Theoretical calculations suggest that hassium would exhibit a metallic silver color if enough could be produced to be visible. It is predicted to be solid under standard conditions and might have similar chemical properties to osmium, reacting with oxygen and halogens but only under certain conditions due to its high reactivity.

Synthesis and Isotopes

Hassium is produced in particle accelerators through the fusion of two lighter nuclei. The most common method involves bombarding lead or bismuth targets with accelerated nuclei of iron or chromium. This process yields various isotopes of hassium, which are identified by their mass numbers. The most stable isotope of hassium known is Hassium-277, with a half-life of approximately 10 seconds, although this value is subject to revision as new isotopes are discovered and studied.

Applications

Due to its short half-life and the difficulty in producing hassium, practical applications outside of scientific research are currently non-existent. The primary use of hassium is in research fields related to nuclear physics and chemistry, where it helps scientists understand the properties of heavy and superheavy elements.

See Also

• Transactinide elements
• Synthetic elements
• Periodic Table
• Nuclear physics

External Links

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