Nihonium

Nihonium is a synthetic chemical element with atomic number 113 and symbol Nh. It is a highly radioactive post-transition metal whose chemistry is known from only a few atoms.

Atomic number: The number of protons in an atom’s nucleus, which defines the chemical element. Nihonium is element 113 because its nuclei contain 113 protons.
RIKEN: Japan’s national research institute for natural sciences, formally the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. Its research team produced the nuclei that established nihonium’s discovery claim.
Heavy-ion fusion: A nuclear reaction in which two massive atomic nuclei collide and may combine into a heavier nucleus. Nihonium was formed by fusing a zinc projectile with a bismuth target.
Superheavy element: A chemical element with atomic number greater than 103, generally produced synthetically and highly radioactive. Nihonium belongs to the superheavy elements studied through atom-at-a-time experiments.
Periodic table: A tabular arrangement of chemical elements ordered by atomic number and recurring chemical properties. Nihonium occupies group 13 and period 7 in this arrangement.
Kosuke Morita: A Japanese nuclear physicist who led the RIKEN team that discovered nihonium. Morita directed the experiments that first produced element 113.
Bismuth-209: The stable isotope of bismuth containing 83 protons and 126 neutrons. It served as the target nucleus in the RIKEN synthesis of nihonium.
Island of stability: A predicted region of superheavy nuclei with comparatively long half-lives. Nihonium data help test how nuclear structure influences stability near this predicted region.
Post-transition metal: A metal in the p-block with properties generally intermediate between transition metals and metalloids. Nihonium is classified in this broad metallic category.
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research: An international nuclear-physics research center in Dubna, Russia. Its collaborations produced competing evidence for element 113 before recognition was settled.

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