Meitnerium is a chemical element with symbol Mt and atomic number 109. It is an extremely radioactive synthetic element (an element not found in nature that can be created in a laboratory). The most stable known isotope, meitnerium-278, has a half-life of 7.6 seconds.
Three reasons Meitnerium stands out
- 1
Named after Austrian-Swedish physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission.
- 2
The scientist it honours was repeatedly overlooked for a Nobel Prize despite her pivotal contributions to nuclear science.
- 3
Its most stable known isotope has a half-life of only about 7 seconds.
An overdue place for Lise Meitner
Meitnerium honors physicist Lise Meitner, who helped explain nuclear fission but was excluded from the Nobel Prize awarded for its discovery. Only a small number of atoms have been made. Its expected chemistry as a heavy relative of iridium remains mostly theoretical.