Copernicium
Report by Shane Wignall
Discovery of Copernicium
- Discoverer: Sigurd Hofmann, et al.
- Discovery Location: Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany
- Discovery Year: 1996
- Name Origin:Named in honor of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), a Polish scientist and astronomer. Copernicus is most famous for discovering that the Earth circles the Sun. Element 112 was named July 13, 2009
- Abundance of Copernicium:
- Earth's Crust/p.p.m.: N/A
- Seawater/p.p.m.: N/A
- Atmosphere/p.p.m.: N/A
- Sun (Relative to H=1E12): N/A
- Uses of Copernicium:None
- Additional Notes: Sigurd Hofmann and his group at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany produced element 112 (Cn277) for the first time in fusion reactions of Zn70 projectiles with Pb208 targets. The formed compound nucleus 278112 deexcites by emitting a neutron and results in the isotope Cn277. Sigurd Hofmann and his group observed one nucleus of element 112 in a three week experiment which ran 24 hours per day. Cn277 is radioactive and decays after a few 100 µs by the emission of an alpha particle into the daughter nucleus Ds273.
- All information was found on http://environmentalchemistry.com
Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicium periodic table information
Copernicium is a chemical element with symbol Cn and atomic number 112. It is an extremely radioactive synthetic element that can only be created in a laboratory. The most stable known isotype, copernicium-285, has a half life of approximately 29 seconds, but it is possible that this Copernicium isotope may have a nuclear isomer with a longer half-life, 8.9 min.
This information was found under Wikipedia.com
Picture of Element symbol was found on google search pictures
Copercium location on the periodic time table
In the periodic table of the elements, it is a d-block transactinide element. During reactions with gold, it has been shown to be an extremely volatile metal and a group 12 element, and it may even be a gas at standard temperature and pressure. Copernicium is calculated to have several properties that differ between it and its lighter homologues, zinc, cadmium and mercury; the most notable of them is withdrawing two 6d-electrons before 7s ones due to relativistic effects, which confirm copernicium as an undisputed transition metal. Copernicium is also calculated to show a predominance of the oxidations state+4, while mercury shows it in only one compound at extreme conditions and zinc and cadmium do not show it at all. It has also been predicted to be more difficult to oxidise copernicium from its neutral state than the other group 12 elements.
In total, approximately 75 atoms of copernicium have been detected using various nuclear reactions.
The information above was found on Wikipedia.com
Below: Periodic Table of the Elements picture was found on chemistry.about.com courtesy of Todd Hemenstine
Copernicium Protons
Copernicium Neutron
Copernicium Electron
Copernicium Symbol
Where are they found
Information on where the elements to Copernicium are found was found on livescience.com and www.rsc.org
Copernicium element pictured was found on using google search Copernicium images
Copernicium Uses, Chararistics, Physical and Chemical Properties
Uses:
At present, it is only used in research.
information on uses of Copernicium was found on http://www.rsc.org
Harmful effects:
Copernicium is harmful due to its radioactivity.
Characteristics:
Copernicium is a synthetic radioactive metal and has only been produced in minute amounts.
Chemical Properties:
According to environmentalchemistry.com-At this time there are no known chemical properties to Copernicium.
Physical Properties:
- Atomic Mass Average: 277
- Boiling Point: unknown
- Coefficient of lineal thermal expansion/K-1: N/A
- ConductivityElectrical:
Thermal:
Physical properties information was found on environmentalchemistry.com.
Interesting facts and information
Discovery of Copernicium showed it produced one atom. Being the shy element that it is, it disappeared almost immediately by releasing a high-energy helium nuclei (alpha decay).
Six isotopes of copernicium have been observed so far. Most of these undergo alpha decay, although some decay through spontaneous fission. The most stable isotope, copernicium-285, has an observed half-life of 29 seconds.
information regarding Copernicium was found on theguardian.com
the below video was found on theguardian.com with a link to youtube.com to watch.