Chemical element

A chemical element is a species of atom having the same number of protons in their atomic nuclei (that is, the same atomic number, or Z).[1] For example, the atomic number of oxygen is 8, so the element oxygen consists of all atoms which have 8 protons.

One hundred eighteen elements have been identified: the first 94 occur naturally on Earth, and the remaining 24 are synthetic elements. There are 80 elements that have at least one stable isotope and 38 that have exclusively radionuclides, which decay over time into other elements. Iron is the most abundant element (by mass) making up Earth, while oxygen is the most common element in the Earth's crust.[2]




The history of the discovery and use of the elements began with primitive human societies that found native elements like carbon, sulfur, copper and gold (though the status of these materials as elements was not known at the time). Later civilizations extracted elemental copper, tin, lead and iron from their ores by smelting, using charcoal. Alchemists and chemists subsequently identified many more; all of the naturally occurring elements were known by 1950.








Atomic number



The symbol for atomic number is Z.






Isotopic mass and atomic mass




Chemically pure and isotopically pure








General properties



States of matter


Melting and boiling points





Crystal structures


Occurrence and origin on Earth



No radioactive decay has been observed for elements with atomic numbers 1 through 82, except 43 (technetium) and 61 (promethium). Observationally stable isotopes of some elements (such as tungsten and lead), however, are predicted to be slightly radioactive with very long half-lives:[19] for example, the half-lives predicted for the observationally stable lead isotopes range from 1035 to 10189 years. Elements with atomic numbers 43, 61, and 83 through 94 are unstable enough that their radioactive decay can readily be detected. Three of these elements, bismuth (element 83), thorium (element 90), and uranium (element 92) have one or more isotopes with half-lives long enough to survive as remnants of the explosive stellar nucleosynthesis that produced the heavy elements before the formation of the Solar System. For example, at over 1.9×1019 years, over a billion times longer than the current estimated age of the universe, bismuth-209 has the longest known alpha decay half-life of any naturally occurring element.[9][10] The very heaviest 24 elements (those beyond plutonium, element 94) undergo radioactive decay with short half-lives and cannot be produced as daughters of longer-lived elements, and thus are not known to occur in nature at all.

Periodic table

Alkali metals Alkaline earth metals Pnicto­gens Chal­co­gens Halo­gens Noble gases


Hydro­gen 1 H 1.008 He­lium 2 He 4.0026
2 Lith­ium 3 Li 6.94 Beryl­lium 4 Be 9.0122 Boron 5 B 10.81 Carbon 6 C 12.011 Nitro­gen 7 N 14.007 Oxy­gen 8 O 15.999 Fluor­ine 9 F 18.998 Neon 10 Ne 20.180
3 So­dium 11 Na 22.990 Magne­sium 12 Mg 24.305 Alumin­ium 13 Al 26.982 Sili­con 14 Si 28.085 Phos­phorus 15 P 30.974 Sulfur 16 S 32.06 Chlor­ine 17 Cl 35.45 Argon 18 Ar 39.95
4 Potas­sium 19 K 39.098 Cal­cium 20 Ca 40.078 Scan­dium 21 Sc 44.956 Tita­nium 22 Ti 47.867 Vana­dium 23 V 50.942 Chrom­ium 24 Cr 51.996 Manga­nese 25 Mn 54.938 Iron 26 Fe 55.845 Cobalt 27 Co 58.933 Nickel 28 Ni 58.693 Copper 29 Cu 63.546 Zinc 30 Zn 65.38 Gallium 31 Ga 69.723 Germa­nium 32 Ge 72.630 Arsenic 33 As 74.922 Sele­nium 34 Se 78.971 Bromine 35 Br 79.904 Kryp­ton 36 Kr 83.798
5 Rubid­ium 37 Rb 85.468 Stront­ium 38 Sr 87.62 Yttrium 39 Y 88.906 Zirco­nium 40 Zr 91.224 Nio­bium 41 Nb 92.906 Molyb­denum 42 Mo 95.95 Tech­netium 43 Tc ​[97] Ruthe­nium 44 Ru 101.07 Rho­dium 45 Rh 102.91 Pallad­ium 46 Pd 106.42 Silver 47 Ag 107.87 Cad­mium 48 Cd 112.41 Indium 49 In 114.82 Tin 50 Sn 118.71 Anti­mony 51 Sb 121.76 Tellur­ium 52 Te 127.60 Iodine 53 I 126.90 Xenon 54 Xe 131.29
6 Cae­sium 55 Cs 132.91 Ba­rium 56 Ba 137.33 Lan­thanum 57 La 138.91 1 asterisk Haf­nium 72 Hf 178.49 Tanta­lum 73 Ta 180.95 Tung­sten 74 W 183.84 Rhe­nium 75 Re 186.21 Os­mium 76 Os 190.23 Iridium 77 Ir 192.22 Plat­inum 78 Pt 195.08 Gold 79 Au 196.97 Mer­cury 80 Hg 200.59 Thallium 81 Tl 204.38 Lead 82 Pb 207.2 Bis­muth 83 Bi 208.98 Polo­nium 84 Po ​[209] Asta­tine 85 At ​[210] Radon 86 Rn ​[222]
7 Fran­cium 87 Fr ​[223] Ra­dium 88 Ra ​[226] Actin­ium 89 Ac ​[227] 1 asterisk Ruther­fordium 104 Rf ​[267] Dub­nium 105 Db ​[268] Sea­borgium 106 Sg ​[269] Bohr­ium 107 Bh ​[270] Has­sium 108 Hs ​[269] Meit­nerium 109 Mt ​[278] Darm­stadtium 110 Ds ​[281] Roent­genium 111 Rg ​[282] Coper­nicium 112 Cn ​[285] Nihon­ium 113 Nh ​[286] Flerov­ium 114 Fl ​[289] Moscov­ium 115 Mc ​[290] Liver­morium 116 Lv ​[293] Tenness­ine 117 Ts ​[294] Oga­nesson 118 Og ​[294]
1 asterisk Cerium 58 Ce 140.12 Praseo­dymium 59 Pr 140.91 Neo­dymium 60 Nd 144.24 Prome­thium 61 Pm ​[145] Sama­rium 62 Sm 150.36 Europ­ium 63 Eu 151.96 Gadolin­ium 64 Gd 157.25 Ter­bium 65 Tb 158.93 Dyspro­sium 66 Dy 162.50 Hol­mium 67 Ho 164.93 Erbium 68 Er 167.26 Thulium 69 Tm 168.93 Ytter­bium 70 Yb 173.05 Lute­tium 71 Lu 174.97  
1 asterisk Thor­ium 90 Th 232.04 Protac­tinium 91 Pa 231.04 Ura­nium 92 U 238.03 Neptu­nium 93 Np ​[237] Pluto­nium 94 Pu ​[244] Ameri­cium 95 Am ​[243] Curium 96 Cm ​[247] Berkel­ium 97 Bk ​[247] Califor­nium 98 Cf ​[251] Einstei­nium 99 Es ​[252] Fer­mium 100 Fm ​[257] Mende­levium 101 Md ​[258] Nobel­ium 102 No ​[259] Lawren­cium 103 Lr ​[266]




Nomenclature and symbols


Atomic numbers


Element names






Chemical symbols

Specific chemical elements



The first of these symbols were intended to be fully universal. Since Latin was the common language of science at that time, they were abbreviations based on the Latin names of metals. Cu comes from cuprum, Fe comes from ferrum, Ag from argentum. The symbols were not followed by a period (full stop) as with abbreviations. Later chemical elements were also assigned unique chemical symbols, based on the name of the element, but not necessarily in English. For example, sodium has the chemical symbol 'Na' after the Latin natrium. The same applies to "Fe" (ferrum) for iron, "Hg" (hydrargyrum) for mercury, "Sn" (stannum) for tin, "Au" (aurum) for gold, "Ag" (argentum) for silver, "Pb" (plumbum) for lead, "Cu" (cuprum) for copper, and "Sb" (stibium) for antimony. "W" (wolfram) for tungsten ultimately derives from German, "K" (kalium) for potassium ultimately from Arabic.



General chemical symbols



Isotope symbols



Origin of the elements




During the early phases of the Big Bang, nucleosynthesis of hydrogen nuclei resulted in the production of hydrogen-1 (protium, 1H) and helium-4 (4He), as well as a smaller amount of deuterium (2H) and very minuscule amounts (on the order of 10−10) of lithium and beryllium. Even smaller amounts of boron may have been produced in the Big Bang, since it has been observed in some very old stars, while carbon has not.[22] It is generally agreed that no heavier elements than boron were produced in the Big Bang. As a result, the primordial abundance of atoms (or ions) consisted of roughly 75% 1H, 25% 4He, and 0.01% deuterium, with only tiny traces of lithium, beryllium, and perhaps boron.[23] Subsequent enrichment of galactic halos occurred due to stellar nucleosynthesis and supernova nucleosynthesis.[24] However, the element abundance in intergalactic space can still closely resemble primordial conditions, unless it has been enriched by some means.









Elements in our galaxy Parts per million

by mass
Hydrogen 739,000
Helium 240,000
Oxygen 10,400
Carbon 4,600
Neon 1,340
Iron 1,090
Nitrogen 960
Silicon 650
Magnesium 580
Sulfur 440
Potassium 210
Nickel 100
Nutritional elements in the periodic table [27]
H   He
Li Be   B C N O F Ne
Na Mg   Al Si P S Cl Ar

  The four basic organic elements
  Quantity elements
  Essential trace elements
  Deemed essential trace element by U.S., not by European Union
  Limited circumstantial evidence for trace benefits or biological action in mammals




Evolving definitions


Classical definitions





Chemical definitions

In 1661, Robert Boyle proposed his theory of corpuscularism which favoured the analysis of matter as constituted by irreducible units of matter (atoms) and, choosing to side with neither Aristotle's view of the four elements nor Paracelsus' view of three fundamental elements, left open the question of the number of elements.[32] The first modern list of chemical elements was given in Antoine Lavoisier's 1789 Elements of Chemistry, which contained thirty-three elements, including light and caloric.[33] By 1818, Jöns Jakob Berzelius had determined atomic weights for forty-five of the forty-nine then-accepted elements. Dmitri Mendeleev had sixty-six elements in his periodic table of 1869.

From Boyle until the early 20th century, an element was defined as a pure substance that could not be decomposed into any simpler substance.[32] Put another way, a chemical element cannot be transformed into other chemical elements by chemical processes. Elements during this time were generally distinguished by their atomic weights, a property measurable with fair accuracy by available analytical techniques.

Atomic definitions



Discovery and recognition of various elements



Elements isolated or produced since 1900 include:

Recently discovered elements


List of the 118 known chemical elements

The following sortable table shows the 118 known chemical elements.

  • Names are those accepted by IUPAC.

Note that the physical properties of elements depend on the isotope.

List of chemical elements
Z [I] Symbol Element Origin of name[43][44] Group Period Atomic weight [45] [46] Density Melting point [47] Boiling point C [I] Electro­negativity Abundance in Earth's crust [II]
(u) (g/cm3) (K) (K) (J/g · K) (mg/kg)
1 H Hydrogen Greek elements hydro- and -gen, meaning 'water-forming' 1 1 1.008 [III] [IV] [V] [VI] 0.00008988 14.01 20.28 14.304 2.20 1400
2 He Helium Greek hḗlios, 'sun' 18 1 4.002602(2) [III] [V] 0.0001785 [VII] 4.22 5.193 0.008
3 Li Lithium Greek líthos, 'stone' 1 2 6.94 [III] [IV] [V] [VIII] [VI] 0.534 453.69 1560 3.582 0.98 20
4 Be Beryllium beryl, a mineral (ultimately from the name of Belur in southern India) 2 2 9.0121831(5) 1.85 1560 2742 1.825 1.57 2.8
5 B Boron borax, a mineral (from Arabicbawraq) 13 2 10.81[III][IV][V] [VI] 2.34 2349 4200 1.026 2.04 10
6 C Carbon Latincarbo, 'coal' 14 2 12.011[III][V] [VI] 2.267 3800 4300 0.709 2.55 200
7 N Nitrogen Greek nítron and -gen, meaning 'niter-forming' 15 2 14.007[III][V] [VI] 0.0012506 63.15 77.36 1.04 3.04 19
8 O Oxygen Greek oxy- and -gen, meaning 'acid-forming' 16 2 15.999[III][V] [VI] 0.001429 54.36 90.20 0.918 3.44 461000
9 F Fluorine Latin fluere, 'to flow' 17 2 18.998403163(6) 0.001696 53.53 85.03 0.824 3.98 585
10 Ne Neon Greek néon, 'new' 18 2 20.1797(6)[III][IV] 0.0008999 24.56 27.07 1.03 0.005
11 Na Sodium Englishsoda (the symbol Na is derived from New Latin natrium, coined from German Natron, 'natron') 1 3 22.98976928(2) 0.971 370.87 1156 1.228 0.93 23600
13 Al Aluminium alumina, from Latin alumen (gen. aluminis), 'bitter salt, alum' 13 3 26.9815384(3) 2.698 933.47 2792 0.897 1.61 82300
15 P Phosphorus Greek phōsphóros, 'light-bearing' 15 3 30.973761998(5) 1.82 317.30 550 0.769 2.19 1050
16 S Sulfur Latin sulphur, 'brimstone' 16 3 32.06 [III] [V] [VI] 2.067 388.36 717.87 0.71 2.58 350
17 Cl Chlorine Greek chlōrós, 'greenish yellow' 17 3 35.45 [III] [IV] [V] [VI] 0.003214 171.6 239.11 0.479 3.16 145
18 Ar Argon Greek argós, 'idle' (because of its inertness) 18 3 39.948 [III] [V] [VI] 0.0017837 83.80 87.30 0.52 3.5
19 K Potassium New Latin potassa, 'potash' (the symbol K is derived from Latin kalium) 1 4 39.0983(1) 0.862 336.53 1032 0.757 0.82 20900
20 Ca Calcium Latin calx, 'lime' 2 4 40.078(4) [III] 1.54 1115 1757 0.647 1 41500
21 Sc Scandium Latin Scandia, 'Scandinavia' 3 4 44.955908(5) 2.989 1814 3109 0.568 1.36 22
24 Cr Chromium Greek chróma, 'colour' 6 4 51.9961(6) 7.15 2180 2944 0.449 1.66 102
25 Mn Manganese corrupted from magnesianegra; see Magnesium 7 4 54.938043(2) 7.44 1519 2334 0.479 1.55 950
26 Fe Iron English word (the symbol Fe is derived from Latin ferrum) 8 4 55.845(2) 7.874 1811 3134 0.449 1.83 56300
27 Co Cobalt GermanKobold, 'goblin' 9 4 58.933194(3) 8.86 1768 3200 0.421 1.88 25
28 Ni Nickel Nickel, a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology 10 4 58.6934(4) 8.912 1728 3186 0.444 1.91 84
29 Cu Copper English word, from Latin cuprum, from Ancient Greek Kýpros 'Cyprus' 11 4 63.546(3) [V] 8.96 1357.77 2835 0.385 1.9 60
30 Zn Zinc Most likely from German Zinke, 'prong' or 'tooth', though some suggest Persian sang, 'stone' 12 4 65.38(2) 7.134 692.88 1180 0.388 1.65 70
31 Ga Gallium Latin Gallia, 'France' 13 4 69.723(1) 5.907 302.9146 2673 0.371 1.81 19
32 Ge Germanium Latin Germania, 'Germany' 14 4 72.630(8) 5.323 1211.40 3106 0.32 2.01 1.5
33 As Arsenic Frencharsenic, from Greek arsenikón 'yellow arsenic' (influenced by arsenikós, 'masculine' or 'virile'), from a West Asian wanderword ultimately from Old Iranian *zarniya-ka, 'golden' 15 4 74.921595(6) 5.776 1090[IX] 887 0.329 2.18 1.8
34 Se Selenium Greek selḗnē, 'moon' 16 4 78.971(8) [V] 4.809 453 958 0.321 2.55 0.05
35 Br Bromine Greek brômos, 'stench' 17 4 79.904 [VI] 3.122 265.8 332.0 0.474 2.96 2.4
36 Kr Krypton Greek kryptós, 'hidden' 18 4 83.798(2) [III] [IV] 0.003733 115.79 119.93 0.248 3 1×10−4
37 Rb Rubidium Latin rubidus, 'deep red' 1 5 85.4678(3) [III] 1.532 312.46 961 0.363 0.82 90
38 Sr Strontium Strontian, a village in Scotland 2 5 87.62(1) [III] [V] 2.64 1050 1655 0.301 0.95 370
39 Y Yttrium Ytterby, a village in Sweden 3 5 88.90584(1) 4.469 1799 3609 0.298 1.22 33
40 Zr Zirconium zircon, a mineral 4 5 91.224(2) [III] 6.506 2128 4682 0.278 1.33 165
41 Nb Niobium Niobe, daughter of king Tantalus from Greek mythology 5 5 92.90637(1) 8.57 2750 5017 0.265 1.6 20
42 Mo Molybdenum Greek molýbdaina, 'piece of lead', from mólybdos, 'lead', due to confusuion with lead ore galena (PbS) 6 5 95.95(1) [III] 10.22 2896 4912 0.251 2.16 1.2
43 Tc Technetium Greek tekhnētós, 'artificial' 7 5 [98][X] 11.5 2430 4538 1.9 ~ 3×10−9 [XI]
44 Ru Ruthenium New Latin Ruthenia, 'Russia' 8 5 101.07(2)[III] 12.37 2607 4423 0.238 2.2 0.001
45 Rh Rhodium Greek rhodóeis, 'rose-coloured', from rhódon, 'rose' 9 5 102.90549(2) 12.41 2237 3968 0.243 2.28 0.001
46 Pd Palladium the asteroid Pallas, considered a planet at the time 10 5 106.42(1)[III] 12.02 1828.05 3236 0.244 2.2 0.015
47 Ag Silver English word (The symbol is derived from Latin argentum) 11 5 107.8682(2)[III] 10.501 1234.93 2435 0.235 1.93 0.075
48 Cd Cadmium New Latin cadmia, from King Kadmos 12 5 112.414(4)[III] 8.69 594.22 1040 0.232 1.69 0.159
49 In Indium Latin indicum, 'indigo' (colour found in its spectrum) 13 5 114.818(1) 7.31 429.75 2345 0.233 1.78 0.25
50 Sn Tin English word (The symbol is derived from Latin stannum) 14 5 118.710(7)[III] 7.287 505.08 2875 0.228 1.96 2.3
51 Sb Antimony Latin antimonium, the origin of which is uncertain: folk etymologies suggest it is derived from Greek antí ('against') + mónos ('alone'), or Old French anti-moine, 'Monk's bane', but it could plausibly be from or related to Arabic ʾiṯmid, 'antimony', reformatted as a Latin word. (The symbol is derived from Latin stibium 'stibnite'.) 15 5 121.760(1)[III] 6.685 903.78 1860 0.207 2.05 0.2
52 Te Tellurium Latin tellus, 'the ground, earth' 16 5 127.60(3)[III] 6.232 722.66 1261 0.202 2.1 0.001
53 I Iodine French iode, from Greek ioeidḗs, 'violet') 17 5 126.90447(3) 4.93 386.85 457.4 0.214 2.66 0.45
54 Xe Xenon Greek xénon, neuter form of xénos 'strange' 18 5 131.293(6)[III][IV] 0.005887 161.4 165.03 0.158 2.6 3×10−5
55 Cs Caesium Latin caesius, 'sky-blue' 1 6 132.90545196(6) 1.873 301.59 944 0.242 0.79 3
56 Ba Barium Greek barýs, 'heavy' 2 6 137.327(7) 3.594 1000 2170 0.204 0.89 425
57 La Lanthanum Greek lanthánein, 'to lie hidden' 3 6 138.90547(7)[III] 6.145 1193 3737 0.195 1.1 39
58 Ce Cerium the dwarf planet Ceres, considered a planet at the time 6 140.116(1)[III] 6.77 1068 3716 0.192 1.12 66.5
59 Pr Praseodymium Greek prásiosdídymos, 'green twin' 6 140.90766(1) 6.773 1208 3793 0.193 1.13 9.2
60 Nd Neodymium Greek néosdídymos, 'new twin' 6 144.242(3)[III] 7.007 1297 3347 0.19 1.14 41.5
61 Pm Promethium Prometheus of Greek mythology 6 [145][X] 7.26 1315 3273 1.13 2×10−19 [XI]
62 Sm Samarium samarskite, a mineral named after Colonel Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets, Russian mine official 6 150.36(2)[III] 7.52 1345 2067 0.197 1.17 7.05
64 Gd Gadolinium gadolinite, a mineral named after Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist 6 157.25(3)[III] 7.895 1585 3546 0.236 1.2 6.2
65 Tb Terbium Ytterby, a village in Sweden 6 158.925354(8) 8.229 1629 3503 0.182 1.2 1.2
66 Dy Dysprosium Greek dysprósitos, 'hard to get' 6 162.500(1)[III] 8.55 1680 2840 0.17 1.22 5.2
67 Ho Holmium New Latin Holmia, 'Stockholm' 6 164.930328(7) 8.795 1734 2993 0.165 1.23 1.3
68 Er Erbium Ytterby, a village in Sweden 6 167.259(3)[III] 9.066 1802 3141 0.168 1.24 3.5
69 Tm Thulium Thule, the ancient name for an unclear northern location 6 168.934218(6) 9.321 1818 2223 0.16 1.25 0.52
70 Yb Ytterbium Ytterby, a village in Sweden 6 173.045(10)[III] 6.965 1097 1469 0.155 1.1 3.2
71 Lu Lutetium Latin Lutetia, 'Paris' 6 174.9668(1)[III] 9.84 1925 3675 0.154 1.27 0.8
72 Hf Hafnium New Latin Hafnia, 'Copenhagen' (from Danish havn) 4 6 178.49(2) 13.31 2506 4876 0.144 1.3 3
74 W Tungsten Swedish tungsten, 'heavy stone' (The symbol is from wolfram, the old name of the tungsten mineral wolframite) 6 6 183.84(1) 19.25 3695 5828 0.132 2.36 1.3
75 Re Rhenium Latin Rhenus, 'the Rhine' 7 6 186.207(1) 21.02 3459 5869 0.137 1.9 7×10−4
76 Os Osmium Greek osmḗ, 'smell' 8 6 190.23(3)[III] 22.61 3306 5285 0.13 2.2 0.002
77 Ir Iridium Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow 9 6 192.217(2) 22.56 2719 4701 0.131 2.2 0.001
78 Pt Platinum Spanishplatina, 'little silver', from plata 'silver' 10 6 195.084(9) 21.46 2041.4 4098 0.133 2.28 0.005
79 Au Gold English word (the symbol Au is derived from Latin aurum) 11 6 196.966570(4) 19.282 1337.33 3129 0.129 2.54 0.004
80 Hg Mercury Mercury, Roman god of commerce, communication, and luck, known for his speed and mobility (the symbol Hg derives from the element's Latin name hydrargyrum, from Greek hydrárgyros, 'water-silver') 12 6 200.592(3) 13.5336 234.43 629.88 0.14 2 0.085
81 Tl Thallium Greek thallós, 'green shoot or twig' 13 6 204.38[VI] 11.85 577 1746 0.129 1.62 0.85
82 Pb Lead English word (the symbol Pb is derived from Latin plumbum) 14 6 207.2(1)[III][V] 11.342 600.61 2022 0.129 1.87 14
83 Bi Bismuth German Wismut, from weiß Masse 'white mass', unless from Arabic 15 6 208.98040(1)[X] 9.807 544.7 1837 0.122 2.02 0.009
84 Po Polonium Latin Polonia, 'Poland' (the home country of Marie Curie) 16 6 [209] [X] 9.32 527 1235 2.0 2×10−10 [XI]
85 At Astatine Greek ástatos, 'unstable' 17 6 [210] [X] 7 500 2.2 3×10−20 [XI]
86 Rn Radon radium 18 6 [222] [X] 0.00973 202 211.3 0.094 2.2 4×10−13 [XI]
87 Fr Francium France 1 7 [223][X] 1.87 281.0 890 0.7 ~ 1×10−18 [XI]
88 Ra Radium French radium, from Latin radius, 'ray' 2 7 [226] [X] 5.5 973 2010 0.094 0.9 9×10−7 [XI]
89 Ac Actinium Greek aktís, 'ray' 3 7 [227] [X] 10.07 1323 3471 0.12 1.1 5.5×10−10 [XI]
91 Pa Protactinium proto- (from Greek prôtos, 'first, before') + actinium, which is produced through the radioactive decay of protactinium 7 231.03588(1)[X] 15.37 1841 4300 1.5 1.4×10−6 [XI]
94 Pu Plutonium the dwarf planet Pluto, considered the ninth planet in the Solar System at the time 7 [244] [X] 19.84 912.5 3501 1.28 ≤ 3×10−11 [XI]
96 Cm Curium Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, French physicists and chemists 7 [247] [X] 13.51 1613 3383 1.28 0 [XII]
99 Es Einsteinium Albert Einstein, German physicist 7 [252] [X] 8.84 1133 (1269) [XIII] 1.3 0 [XII]
100 Fm Fermium Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist 7 [257] [X] (9.7) [XIII] (1125) [XIII] 1.3 0 [XII]
101 Md Mendelevium Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and inventor who proposed the periodic table 7 [258] [X] (10.3) [XIII] (1100) [XIII] 1.3 0 [XII]
102 No Nobelium Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer 7 [259] [X] (9.9) [XIII] (1100) [XIII] 1.3 0 [XII]
103 Lr Lawrencium Ernest O. Lawrence, American physicist 7 [266] [X] (15.6) [XIII] (1900) [XIII] 1.3 0 [XII]
104 Rf Rutherfordium Ernest Rutherford, chemist and physicist from New Zealand 4 7 [267] [X] (23.2) [XIII] (2400) [XIII] (5800) [XIII] 0 [XII]
105 Db Dubnium Dubna, Russia, where the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is located 5 7 [268] [X] (29.3) [XIII] 0 [XII]
106 Sg Seaborgium Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist 6 7 [269] [X] (35.0) [XIII] 0 [XII]
107 Bh Bohrium Niels Bohr, Danish physicist 7 7 [270] [X] (37.1) [XIII] 0 [XII]
108 Hs Hassium New Latin Hassia, 'Hesse' (a state in Germany) 8 7 [270] [X] (40.7) [XIII] 0 [XII]
109 Mt Meitnerium Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist 9 7 [278] [X] (37.4) [XIII] 0 [XII]
111 Rg Roentgenium Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, German physicist 11 7 [282] [X] (28.7) [XIII] 0 [XII]
112 Cn Copernicium Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer 12 7 [285] [X] (14.0) [XIII] (283) [XIV] (340) [XIV] 0 [XII]
113 Nh Nihonium JapaneseNihon, 'Japan' (where the element was first synthesised) 13 7 [286] [X] (16) [XIII] (700) [XIII] (1400) [XIII] 0 [XII]
114 Fl Flerovium Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, part of JINR, where the element was synthesised; itself named after Georgy Flyorov, Russian physicist 14 7 [289] [X] (14) [XIII] ~210 0 [XII]
116 Lv Livermorium Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, which collaborated with JINR on its synthesis 16 7 [293] [X] (12.9) [XIII] (700) [XIII] (1100) [XIII] 0 [XII]
117 Ts Tennessine Tennessee, United States (where Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located) 17 7 [294] [X] (7.2) [XIII] (700) [XIII] (883) [XIII] 0 [XII]
118 Og Oganesson Yuri Oganessian, Russian physicist 18 7 [294] [X] (5.0) [XIII] [XV] (320) [XIII] (~350) [XIII] [XVI] 0 [XII]


  1. ^ a b Z is the standard symbol for atomic number; C is the standard symbol for heat capacity
    • Hydrogen: [1.00784, 1.00811]
    • Lithium: [6.938, 6.997]
    • Boron: [10.806, 10.821]
    • Carbon: [12.0096, 12.0116]
    • Nitrogen: [14.00643, 14.00728]
    • Oxygen: [15.99903, 15.99977]
    • Magnesium: [24.304, 24.307]
    • Silicon: [28.084, 28.086]
    • Sulfur: [32.059, 32.076]
    • Chlorine: [35.446, 35.457]
    • Argon: [39.792, 39.963]
    • Bromine: [79.901, 79.907]
    • Thallium: [204.382, 204.385]
  9. ^ This element sublimes at one atmosphere of pressure.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k This element is transient – it occurs only through decay (and in the plutonium, also in traces deposited from supernovae onto Earth).
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak The value has not been precisely measured, usually because of the element's short half-life; the value given in parentheses is a prediction.
  14. ^ a b With error bars: 283±11 K and 340±10 K respectively. The best experimental value for the boiling point of copernicium is 357+112

  15. ^ This predicted value is for solid oganesson, not gaseous oganesson.
  16. ^ With error bars: 350±30 K.

See also


  1. ^ a b IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version:  (2006–) "chemical element". doi:10.1351/goldbook.C01022
  4. ^ E.M. Burbidge; G.R. Burbidge; W.A. Fowler; F. Hoyle (1957). "Synthesis of the Elements in Stars". Reviews of Modern Physics. 29 (4): 547–650. Bibcode:1957RvMP...29..547B. doi:10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547.
  8. ^ (18 October 2006). "How Stars Make Energy and New Elements" (PDF). Foothill College.
  9. ^ a b Dumé, B. (23 April 2003). "Bismuth breaks half-life record for alpha decay". Bristol, England: Institute of Physics. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  11. ^ Sanderson, K. (17 October 2006). "Heaviest element made – again". News@nature. doi:10.1038/news061016-4.
  14. ^ Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "Origins of Heavy Elements". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  15. ^ "Atomic Number and Mass Numbers". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  16. ^ "Periodic Table of Elements: LANL Carbon". Los Alamos National Laboratory.
  18. ^ "Pure element". European Nuclear Society.
  21. ^ IUPAC 2016, Table 2, 3 combined; uncertainty removed.
  22. ^ Wilford, J.N. (14 January 1992). "Hubble Observations Bring Some Surprises". The New York Times.
  27. ^
    • Ultratrace minerals. Authors: Nielsen, Forrest H. USDA, ARS Source: Modern nutrition in health and disease / editors, Maurice E. Shils ... et al. Baltimore : Williams & Wilkins, c1999., p. 283-303. Issue Date: 1999 URI: [1]
  31. ^ Partington, J. R. (1937). A Short History of Chemistry. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-65977-0.
  32. ^ a b Boyle, R. (1661). The Sceptical Chymist. London. ISBN 978-0-922802-90-6.
  34. ^ Transactinide-2.
  35. ^ Carey, G.W. (1914). The Chemistry of Human Life. Los Angeles. ISBN 978-0-7661-2840-8.
  43. ^ "Periodic Table – Royal Society of Chemistry".
  44. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
  45. ^ Wieser, Michael E.; et al. (2013). "Atomic weights of the elements 2011 (IUPAC Technical Report)". Pure Appl. Chemistry. 85 (5): 1047–1078. doi:10.1351/PAC-REP-13-03-02. (for standard atomic weights of elements)
  46. ^ Sonzogni, Alejandro. "Interactive Chart of Nuclides". National Nuclear Data Center: Brookhaven National Laboratory. Retrieved 6 June 2008. (for atomic weights of elements with atomic numbers 103–118)

Further reading

External links

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