Meitnerium - Mt 109

Meitnerium - Mt, a highly radioactive metal, of which only a few atoms have ever been made, found in Group VIIIb of the periodic table.

Atomic Number : 109
Relative Atomic Mass : 266
Melting Point : N/A
Boiling Point : N/A
Relative Density : N/A
Electron Configuration : [Rn]5f¹⁴6d⁷7s²

Discovery

by P. Armbruster, G. Munzenberg and co-workers in 1982

Occurrence

A transuranium element, less than 10 atoms of meitnerium have ever been made, and it will probably never be isolated in observable quantities. Created by a so-called cold fusion method, in which a target of bismuth is bombarded with atoms of iron. It is a radioactive metal which does not occur naturally and is of research interest only. The first atoms were made via a nuclear reaction, the cold fusion method: involving fusion of an isotope of bismuth, ²⁰⁹Bi, with one of iron, ⁵⁸Fe.

²⁰⁹Bi + ⁵⁸Fe ²⁶⁶Mt + ¹n

Isolation of an observable quantity of meitnerium has never been achieved, and may well never be. This is because meitnerium decays very rapidly through the emission of a-particles.

Properties

A synthetic element created via nuclear bombardment, few atoms have ever been made and the properties of meitnerium are very poorly understood. It is a radioactive metal which does not occur naturally and is of research interest only.

Uses