Unbiunium facts for kids

Unbiunium is a special element that scientists have thought about, but it hasn't been made or found yet. It's like a predicted element on the periodic table. Its special number, called the atomic number, is 121. Scientists use the temporary symbol Ubu for it. This name and symbol are just placeholders until a permanent name is chosen by a group called IUPAC. Unbiunium is expected to be a type of element known as an F-block element, and it's also called a superactinide. It would be the third element in the eighth row, or "period," of the periodic table.

Trying to Make Unbiunium

Scientists have tried to create Unbiunium in a lab. The first attempt happened in 1977.

How Scientists Tried to Create It

At a research center in Darmstadt, Germany, scientists tried to make Unbiunium. They used a special method:

• They shot tiny particles of copper-65 at a piece of uranium-238.
• This process is like trying to combine two smaller elements to make a much bigger one.
• The idea was that uranium-238 and copper-65 would join together to form unbiunium-303.
• However, no atoms of Unbiunium were found during this experiment.

Images for kids

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  This chart shows how stable different atomic nuclei are. The "island of stability" is a predicted area where very heavy elements might be more stable and last longer.

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  This image shows how superheavy elements are expected to break down. Scientists predict that elements heavier than 120 might become very unstable, breaking apart quickly.

See also

In Spanish: Unbiunio para niños