Superheavy elements, (also known as superheavy atoms, commonly abbreviated SHE) usually refer to the transactinide elements beginning with rutherfordium (atomic number 104). (Lawrencium, the first 6d element, is sometimes but not always included as well.) They have only been made artificially and currently serve no practical purpose because their short half-lives cause them to decay after a very short time, ranging from a few hours to just a few milliseconds, which also makes them extremely hard to study.