Question

What are \[5\] elements named after people?

Answer 1

Hint: An element is a pure substance made up entirely of atoms with the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei, as described by chemistry.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Although the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry accepts only \[13\] of the names, there are \[14\] elements named after individuals (IUPAC).
1. Samarium (Sm, \[62\]): The first element to be named after a human, Samarium is named after its ore, samarskite, which is named after V.E. Samarsky-Bykhovets, a Russian mining engineer who generously shared his mineral samples with researchers.
2. Gallium (Ga, \[31\]) was named after both its discoverer, Lecoq de Boisbaudran(le coq, the French word for rooster translates to gallus in Latin) and Gallia (Latin for France)
3. Bohrium (Bh, \[107\]): was named after Niels Bohr. Nielsbohrium (symbol Ns) was proposed by the German discoverers at GSI after Niels Bohr. IUPAC are happy to name an element after Bohr but propose Bohrium (Bh) on the grounds that the first name of a person should not appear in the names of any other element named after a person. This seems to have been accepted by those concerned.
4. Einsteinium (Es, \[99\]): Albert Einstein, a well-known physicist, was the inspiration for this name. Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist, generally considered to be one of the greatest physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for his contributions to the theory of relativity, but he has made significant contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics.
5. Lawrencium (Lr, \[103\]): Ernest Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron, a system that was used to explore several artificial radioactive elements, was honoured with the name.

Note: Of the \[118\] chemical elements, \[19\] are associated with the names of \[20\] individuals. A total of \[15\] elements have been named after \[16\] scientists (as curium honours both Marie and Pierre Curie). Four other elements have a tenuous connection to non-scientists names.