Wednesday 13 March 2013

Bohrium

Bohrium 


Bohrium is a chemical element with symbol Bh and atomic number 107, named in honor of Danish physicist Niels Bohr. 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, 270Bh, has a half-life of approximately 61 seconds.

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 7 elements. Chemistry experiments have confirmed that bohrium behaves as the heavier homologue to rhenium in group 7. The chemical properties of bohrium are characterized only partly, but they compare well with the chemistry of the other group 7 elements.

Discovery of Bohrium

First claimed to have been produced in the USSR in 1976.

Definite synthesis achieved in 1981 at the GSI in Darmstadt, Germany.

Bohrium was named in honor of Niels Bohr.

Appearance and Characteristics

Harmful effects:

Bohrium is harmful due to its radioactivity.

Characteristics:
  • A synthetically made radioactive element. Only a few atoms have ever been produced. Bohrium decays very rapidly through the emission of α-particles.

Uses of Bohrium
  • Bohrium’s only use is in research.