It's Elemental
The Element Copernicium
Copernicium
Atomic Number: 112
Atomic Weight: 285
Melting Point: Unknown
Boiling Point: Unknown
Density: Unknown
Phase at Room Temperature: Expected to be a Solid
Element Classification: Metal
Period Number: 7
Group Number: 12
Group Name: none
Special Notes: Radioactive and Artificially Produced
What's in a name? Named after the astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus.
Say what? Copernicium is pronounced as kogh-per-NEE-see-em.
History and Uses:
Copernicium was first produced by Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenber and their team working at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany on February 9, 1996. They bombarded atoms of lead with ions of zinc with a device known as a linear accelerator. This produced atoms of copernicium-277, an isotope with a half-life of about 0.24 milliseconds (0.00024 seconds).
Copernicium's most stable isotope, copernicium-285, has a half-life of about 30 seconds. It decays into darmstadtium-281 through alpha decay.
Since only a few atoms of copernicium have ever been produced, it currently has no uses outside of basic scientific research.
Originally, the symbol Cp was recommended for Copernicium. That symbol was rejected because Cp had previously been used for the element lutetium which, prior to 1949, had cassiopeium as an alternative allowed name. Please see this file for additional details.
Estimated Crustal Abundance: Not Applicable
Estimated Oceanic Abundance: Not Applicable
Number of Stable Isotopes: 0 (View all isotope data)
Ionization Energy: Unknown
Oxidation States: Unknown
1s2 | |
(Unconfirmed) | 2s2 2p6 |
3s2 3p6 3d10 | |
4s2 4p6 4d10 4f14 | |
5s2 5p6 5d10 5f14 | |
6s2 6p6 6d10 | |
7s2 |
Citation and linking information
For questions about this page, please contact Carol McKisson.