Hassium is a synthetic, unstable transactinide element with an atomic number of 108. It has no commercial uses and its chemical properties are not well known due to its short-lived isotopes. It is mainly used in scientific research and was discovered in 1984 by German researchers. Initially called unniloctium, it was later named hassium after the Latin name of the German state where it was discovered.
Asium is a metallic chemical element in the transactinide group on the periodic table of elements, placing it among the heaviest known elements. Like other transactinides, hassium can also be produced synthetically, by bombarding other elements in a linear accelerator. Since the synthetic production of elements is expensive and time consuming, it should come as no surprise to learn that there are no commercial uses for this element.
The chemical properties of this element are not well known, because so far the only isotopes that have been produced have been too short-lived to be studied. Hassium isotopes exist for a few milliseconds at a time before decaying; like other transactinides, axium is extremely unstable. Asium is also classified as a transuranium element, uniting other elements with atomic numbers higher than that of uranium. Transuranium elements share the trait of radioactivity.
The atomic number of this element is 108, and it is identified by the symbol Hs on the periodic table of elements. It purportedly shares chemical traits with other transactinide elements, but since only small quantities have been produced, it is difficult to pin down the specifics of this element. Like other transactinides, hassium is mainly used in scientific research, in hopes of learning more about it and other heavy elements.
Credit for the discovery of this element is generally given to German researchers Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Munzenburg, who found an isotope of hassium by bombarding lead in Darmstadt, Germany. This discovery occurred in 1984; the men proposed “hassium” as a name referring to the Latin name of the German state where the element was discovered.
Initially, hassium was called unniloctium by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), until the discovery was confirmed and accredited. These transition names are common to many of the transactinide elements. The IUPAC then proposed “hahnium” as the name for the element, but in 1997, element 108 was generally known as hassium and the name stuck.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
