Moscovium is the name of a synthetic superheavy element in the periodic table that has the symbol Mc and has the atomic number 115. It is an extremely radioactive element; its most stable known isotope, moscovium-289, has a half-life of only 220 milliseconds. It is also known as eka-bismuth or simply element 115.
Three reasons Moscovium stands out
- 1
Synthetic element, named after the capital of Russia.
- 2
It was first synthesised in 2003 by bombarding another heavy element with calcium nuclei in a heavy-ion accelerator.
- 3
Each atom produced decays within a fraction of a second, leaving almost no time to study its properties.
A Moscow-region name built from calcium collisions
Moscovium was produced by firing calcium-48 nuclei into americium targets, then identifying linked radioactive decays. Its name honors Moscow Oblast, where the Dubna laboratory is located. Chemistry is largely predicted, with relativistic effects expected to complicate its resemblance to bismuth.