Darmstadtium (formerly ununnilium or Eka-Platinum) is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ds and atomic number 110. It has an atomic weight of 281 making it one of the super-heavy atoms. It is a synthetic element and decays in thousandths of a second. Due to its presence in Group 10 it is believed to likely be metallic and solid.

History

It was first created on November 9, 1994 at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. It has never been seen and only a few atoms of it have been created by the nuclear fusion of isotopes of lead and nickel in a heavy ion accelerator (nickel atoms are the ones accelerated and bombarded into the lead).

Scientists are not always serious, so some suggested the name policium for the new element, because 110 is the emergency telephone number of the German police (similar to 911 in the USA etc). The element was named after the place of its discovery, Darmstadt (actually, the GSI is located in Wixhausen, a small suburb north of Darmstadt). The new name was given to it by the IUPAC in August 2003.

External links

• WebElements.com - Darmstadtium (http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ds/index.html)
• IUPAC: Element 110 is named darmstadtium (http://www.iupac.org/news/archives/2003/naming110.html)
• Apsidium - darmstadtium (http://www.apsidium.com/elements/110.htm)