Facts About Flerovium

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Flerovium
Flerovium (Image credit: Galyna Andrushko | Shutterstock)

Atomic Number: 114 Atomic Symbol: Fl Atomic Weight: [289] Melting Point: Unknown Boiling Point: Unknown

Word origin: Flerovium is named for Russian physicist Georgy Flyorov, founder of the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, where the element was discovered.

Properties of flerovium

Flerovium is a radioactive, synthetic element about which little is known. It is classified as a metal and is expected to be solid at room temperature. Flerovium is suggested to be part of the theorized “island of stability.” Predicted to occur around Element 114, the island of stability is where protons and neutrons would combine to make a stable structure.

Flerovium has five isotopes with known half-lives.

The atomic weight for manmade transuranium elements is based on the longest-lived isotope. These atomic weights should be considered provisional since a new isotope with a longer half-life could be produced in the future. [See Periodic Table of the Elements]

Sources of flerovium

To make flerovium, atoms of plutonium (Element 94) are bombarded with ions of calcium (Element 20) contained in a beam.

Uses of flerovium

Only a few atoms of flerovium have ever been made, and they are only used in scientific study.

(Sources: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jefferson Lab)

Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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