Ununtrium facts for kids

Ununtrium is a special kind of chemical element. It is also known by another name, eka-thallium. Its short symbol is Uut. This element has an atomic number of 113. This means it has 113 protons in its atoms. Ununtrium is a transuranium element, which means it has more protons than uranium.

You won't find ununtrium in nature. Scientists have to create it in a lab. They make it through a process called alpha decay. This happens when another element, ununpentium, breaks down.

Scientists don't know what ununtrium looks like. They haven't made enough of it to see it with their eyes. We also don't know what it can be used for yet. But by looking at the Periodic Table, scientists guess it might be a soft, silver-colored metal. It could also be very reactive, like the element sodium.

How Ununtrium Was Discovered

Scientists first found ununtrium on February 1 2004. A team of Russian scientists worked at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. They teamed up with American scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Together, they were the first to report finding this new element.

Later, on September 28 2004, a team of Japanese scientists also announced they had made the element. This showed that different labs could create it.

In May 2006, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research made ununtrium again. They used a different method this time. They were able to confirm what the element was by studying how it broke down.

What's in a Name?

The name "Ununtrium" is a temporary name. It was given by the IUPAC. This group sets the rules for naming elements.

Scientists from Japan suggested other names for the element. They thought of japonium (with the symbol Jp). Another idea was rikenium (with the symbol Rk). The element was later officially named Nihonium (Nh).

Images for kids

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  Kōsuke Morita and Hiroshi Matsumoto in Fukuoka City, Japan

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  Nihonium (row 113) is expected to be within the "island of stability" (white circle) where nuclei are more stable.

See also

In Spanish: Nihonio para niños