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Home Chemical Elements Transition Metals Group 2B Copernicium
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Copernicium

Author: Hans Lohninger

Atomic Number 112
Atomic Symbol Cn
CAS ID No. 54084-26-3
Atomic Weight [277] amu
Electron Configuration [Rn]7s2 5f14 6d10
Melting Point -
Boiling Point -
Density -

Copernicium was first created in 1996 at the GSI (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung) in Darmstadt, Germany, by fusing zinc and lead. A single atom of copernicium-277 was produced:

208Pb+ 70Zn 278Cn 277Cn + 1 n

IUPAC assessed the claim of discovery by the GSI team only 13 years later in 2009, after severe scientific disputes and many confirmatory experiments. After the acknowledgement of their discovery, the GSI team proposed the name copernicium with the element symbol Cn in honor of Nicolaus Copernicus. IUPAC officially accepted the proposed name and symbol on Feb-19, 2010 (the 537th birthday of Copernicus).


Home Chemical Elements Transition Metals Group 2B Copernicium

Last Update: 2011-02-16