Scientists have been interested in discovering elements for ages. Elements are the substance whose all the atoms have the same number of protons. Humanity has known some of the elements for thousands of years, such as iron, copper, gold, etc. But maximum elements have been discovered after the year 1668. Till now the nuclear scientists have discovered 118 elements, and one of the recent discoveries in the list of elements is Flerovium. This element is extremely radioactive. The symbol of Flerovium is Fl, and it is a super heavy artificial chemical element. It was discovered in the year 1998 and is named after the Flerov Laboratory, where it was discovered.
What Is Flerovium?
Flerovium is an extremely radioactive synthetic element. Not much is known about this element as to date it has minimal usage. Scientists have classified this Fl element as a metal because they expect it to stay solid at average or room temperature. They predict the element to occur around Element 114 and suggest it to be a part of the “island of stability”. Where neutrons and protons combine to make a solid structure is known as Island of stability.
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(The image displays the different elements of Flerovium)
How Scientists Discovered Flerovium Elements?
When the scientists bombard two lighter elements together, a new element was discovered. The mass of the two elements combined with the mass of the desired new element. Scientists keep one element as stationary, which is known as the target, and the other element is known as a projectile as it is accelerated and effectively shot into the target (the stationary element). For a fraction of second, the two elements stick to each other and form a new element, after which the new element quickly decays. In the same manner, the Fl element was discovered. Scientists at the Flerov Laboratory bombarded atoms of plutonium (Element 94) along with ions of calcium (Element 20) in a beam to discover Fl.
What Are The Uses Of Flerovium?
To date, scientists have made only a few atoms of Fl, and they have not used it much since its discovery. Moreover, the element also does possess any kind of commercial application. The scientists have revealed only one thing about the element that it is harmful because of its high radioactive nature. Therefore there is not much to tell about its use as scientists have used it only for a few pieces of researches or scientific study.
Flerovium Chemical Properties
Here are some of the chemical properties of flerovium that can assist you in understanding it better.
Fl element is a P-Block, Group 14, and Period 7 element.
There are 114 electrons and protons in Fl and 175 neutrons.
Physical Properties Of Flerovium
The Melting point of the element: The melting point of the element is still not very clear, but after a few research, many scientists have concluded that the melting point of the element is 70 degrees Celsius. The result is still a predicted result, and no scientist is sure about it.
The Boiling point of the element: Many scientists are of the opinion that the boiling point of the Fl element is 150 degrees Celsius or 300 degrees F. This, too, is a predicted figure. Scientists lack to give physical properties of the element due to its almost no uses and applications.
The Density of the element: some scientists have predicted that the Fl element density is 22 gcm cube. The scientists have come to this result after conducting a few types of researches on the element.
General Properties Of The Fl Element
Flerovium is a scarcely used element. Its atomic number is 114, and its atomic weight is 289. The category of the element is still unknown. Some scientists are of the opinion that the color of the element is presumably silvery-white, gray, or metallic. Its other name is Ununquadio. The Fl is considered as a metal due to its high density and has about five known synthetic isotopes so far. All these isotopes are supposed to have a half-life, which means that half of the fundamental atoms of the element die in a fraction of time. The mass number of these five isotopes ranges between 285 and 289. Scientists have derived that all these isotopes are highly unstable in nature, and only the isotope 285 Fl is considered as the most stable isotope of the Fl element. The isotope 285 Fl has a half-life, which is equal to around 2.6 seconds.
Fun Facts About The Fl Element
Flerovium is obtained by bombarding ions of plutonium and calcium.
The metal is an extremely radioactive metal.
It can be easily formed in the said nuclear reactors.
It belongs to the p-block elements of the periodic table, and the elements of this block are considered to be the heaviest elements.
FAQs on Flerovium
1. Since Flerovium is in the same periodic table group as silicon and carbon, is Flerovium based life possible just like carbon?
Scientists have made it clear that Fl is an extremely radioactive element. And according to Wikipedia, the most stable isotope of Fl has a half-life of 1.9 seconds and which decays after that. For a Flerovium based life, it is necessary for the element to be a lot more stable than it is currently. Can you imagine a life where half of the fundamental atoms of life decay every 2 seconds and become some other element that has some other chemical properties? If the answer is no, then the answer to this question is straight away no.
2. What is the atomic number of Flerovium or ununquadium?
As per the IUPAC nomenclature for elements, elements that have an atomic number that is more than 100 then:
Un is the name given for number 1, which is further abbreviated to u.
Quad is the name given to the number 4, which is further abbreviated to q.
Therefore, it is clear that Flerovium or ununquadium has atomic number 114, which has clearly been derived from its name. It is also easy to write its symbol with the help of abbreviations in the same order of its name sequence. Only the first letter should be written in the uppercase rest all in the lower case.