Chemical Formula
Mt
Background
Meitnerium was first discovered by Gottfried Münzenber and Peter Armbruster at Heavy Ion Research Laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany in 1982. They bombarded bismuth-209 atoms with iron-58 ions in a linear accelerator and produced meitnerium-266 atoms with free neutrons. The element was named after the physicist Lise Meitner, one of the pioneers of nuclear fission.
Basic Information
| Name |
Meitnerium |
| Symbol |
Mt |
| Atomic number |
109 |
| Atomic weight |
276 amu |
| Standard state |
Presumably a solid at 298 K |
| CAS Registry ID |
54038-01-6 |
| Group in periodic table |
9 |
| Period in periodic table |
7 |
| Block in periodic table |
d-block |
| Color |
Unknown, but probably metallic and silvery white or grey in appearance |
| Classification |
Metallic |
| Melting point |
Unknown |
| Boiling point |
Unknown |
| Density |
Unknown |
| Phase at room temperature |
Solid |
Occurrence
Meitnerium does not occur naturally.
Meitnerium - Periodic Table of Videos
Isotopes
Meitnerium has been found to have seven isotopes with mass numbers in the range of 266Mt to 278Mt. It has no stable or naturally- occurring isotopes. However, 266Mt is the longest-lived isotope with a half-life of 8 s.
Production
Meitnerium atoms can be produced through a nuclear reaction that involves a cold fusion of a bismuth isotope with iron ions.
209Bi + 58Fe → 266Mt + 1n
Very few quantities of meitnerium have been produced so far owing to the fact that the element decays rapidly via alpha emission.
Key Properties
The following are the key properties of meitnerium:
- It is a radioactive metal
- It is very unstable in air
- It is expected to have properties similar to that of other group 9 elements, iridium, cobalt and rhodium in particular.
Applications
The applications of meitnerium are currently limited to scientific research only.
References
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