Tennessine is a superheavy artificial chemical element with an atomic number of 117 and a symbol of Ts. Also known as eka-astatine or element 117, it is the second-heaviest known element and penultimate element of the 7th period of the periodic table. As of 2016, fifteen tennessine atoms have been observed: six when it was first synthesized in 2010, seven in 2012, and two in 2014.
Three reasons Tennessine stands out
- 1
Named after US state known as the birthplace of blues.
- 2
It was first synthesised in 2010, making it one of the most recently confirmed elements on the periodic table.
- 3
Unlike the lighter halogens, it is predicted to have metallic rather than non-metallic properties due to relativistic effects.
A halogen unlike the halogens we can hold
Tennessine honors the Tennessee institutions that helped supply targets, data, and expertise for its discovery. It occupies the halogen column, but extreme relativistic effects may weaken the chemistry familiar from fluorine and chlorine. Every known atom has disappeared in a fraction of a second.