Meitnerium (Mt), an artificially produced element belonging to the transuranium group, atomic number 109. It is predicted to have chemical properties resembling those of iridium. The element is named in honour of Austrian-born physicist Lise Meitner. Continue reading from Encyclopedia Britannica
In 1982 West German physicists at the Institute for Heavy Ion Research (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung [GSI]) in Darmstadt synthesized an isotope of meitnerium with a mass number of 266. Using a high-energy linear accelerator, the GSI investigators, under the direction of Peter Armbruster, bombarded bismuth-209 targets with beams of iron-58 ions for roughly 10 days. The resultant fusion reaction between the bismuth and iron atoms yielded only a single nucleus of the new element; however, the sensitivity of the detection technique employed left little doubt as to the validity of the identification. The most stable isotope, meitnerium-276, has a half-life of 0.72 second. Continue reading from Encyclopedia Britannica
Meitnerium is named for scientist Lise Meitner. The element was discovered in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1982 at Heavy Ion Laboratory. The team of Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenber first produced and identified it. This experiment was significant because, in addition to producing a new element, it demonstrated the feasibility of using fusion to make new, heavy nuclei. Meitnerium is a radioactive, synthetic element about which little is known. It is classified as a metal and is a solid at room temperature. Only small amounts of meitnerium have ever been made. Currently, it is only used in scientific study. Continue reading from LiveScience
