Darmstadtium

Darmstadtium is a synthetic chemical element with atomic number 110 and symbol Ds. It is a transactinide element whose chemical properties remain difficult to measure because only a few atoms have been produced.

Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, which determines the chemical element. Darmstadtium is element 110 because every nucleus of it contains 110 protons.
GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research: A German research institute in Darmstadt that conducts experiments in nuclear and particle physics. The collaboration that discovered darmstadtium carried out its work at this institute.
Nickel-62: A stable isotope of nickel containing 28 protons and 34 neutrons. Nickel-62 ions were used as projectiles in the experiment that first produced darmstadtium.
Superheavy element research: The experimental and theoretical study of elements with very high atomic numbers. Darmstadtium experiments contribute to mapping the limits of nuclear existence.
Isotope: One of two or more atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons. Known darmstadtium atoms differ in neutron number and therefore in nuclear stability.
Heavy-ion fusion: A nuclear reaction in which two atomic nuclei collide and combine to form a heavier nucleus. The first darmstadtium atoms were made by fusing nickel ions with lead nuclei.
Lead-208: A stable isotope of lead containing 82 protons and 126 neutrons. Lead-208 served as the target nucleus in the original element-110 synthesis.
Island of stability: A predicted region of relatively long-lived superheavy nuclei among mostly short-lived isotopes. Darmstadtium’s isotope lifetimes help test models that predict this region.
Transactinide element: A chemical element with atomic number greater than 103, beginning with rutherfordium. Darmstadtium belongs to this group of exceptionally heavy, mostly synthetic elements.
Peter Armbruster: A German nuclear physicist known for research on heavy-ion reactions and superheavy elements. He co-led the research team that reported the first production of element 110.

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