Nihonium (Nh)
Nihonium (Nh): The Superheavy Metal from Japan
Nihonium is a synthetic, highly radioactive metal. Only a few atoms have ever been created, and they vanish almost instantly. With an atomic number of 113, it belongs to the group of superheavy elements. Its name comes from Nihon—one of the Japanese words for Japan—in honor of the country where it was first made.
A Man-Made Element
Nihonium doesn’t exist naturally. It can only be created in a laboratory using a heavy ion accelerator. The first successful experiment involved bombarding atoms of bismuth-209 with zinc-70 nuclei. When the two fused, they formed a single atom of a brand-new element—nihonium.
Biological Role & Uses
Because nihonium is so rare and unstable (its most stable isotope lasts less than a second before decaying), it has no practical uses beyond scientific research. Physicists study it to learn more about superheavy elements and to explore the limits of the periodic table. Nihonium has no role in living things and is considered toxic due to its intense radioactivity.
History of Discovery
The discovery of nihonium was a proud moment for Japanese science:
2004: A team led by Kosuke Morita at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science in Japan first created and detected atoms of nihonium.
2015: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) confirmed the discovery.
2016: The element was officially named nihonium, making it the first element named after Japan.