All You Need to Know about Bohrium
Bohrium is a synthetic chemical element represented using the symbol Bh. The atomic number of this metal is 107, and its name comes from the name of Niels Bohr, a physicist from Denmark. Niels Bohr, the leader in the field of quantum physics, has gained massive popularity for explaining atomic theory and structure. His innovative and useful work on atomic structure forms the basis of atomic physics. This synthetic element is not found abundantly in nature and is considered to be very solid and strong metal. Gottfried Münzenberg and Peter Armbruster discovered the metal in 1976.
It isn't easy to study Bohrium because it has a very short life span. Though it was discovered officially at the Institute for Heavy Ion research located in Germany in the year 1981, it was only in 2000 that a team of experts was able to come up with large amounts of this element for examining its physical and chemical properties. Longest isotopes of Bohrium are barely able to pass the 60-second mark while the heaviest ones are to decay very slowly. It is the low stability of Bohrium that makes it efficient to be used even outside the scientific research arena.
Bohrium Properties
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This image depicts the symbol of Bohrium.
Bh element is categorised as a transition metal. Claims regarding the production of Bohrium first surfaced in 1976 in the USSR. However, a definite and verified synthesis was only accomplished in 1981 by a team of scientists at GSI, Darmstadt in Germany. It is a harmful metal owing to its radioactive nature. This synthetically produced radioactive element decays very fast by way of the emission of α-particles. Bohrium melting point and boiling point are unknown. Other properties include:
Solid key isotopes: 272Bh
Relative atomic weight: 270 g/mol-1
Atomic number: 107
Group: 7
Period: 7
Electron configuration: (Rn) 5f14 6d5 7s2
Form at room temperature: Solid
Element Classification: Metal
One crucial point to be noted about Bohrium is that it is radioactive and is produced artificially. The metal consists of approximately 10 isotopes. The isotope 270Bh is the most stable with a half-life of roughly 61 seconds. Here, it is worth noting that the atomic mass of any synthetic transuranium metal is wholly based on its longest-lived isotope in the periodic table. Atomic weights need to be considered the way they are arranged because new isotopes with longer half-lives are likely to come up. Speaking of the periodic table, Bohrium comes in the d-block category. It is a transactinide element belonging to the 7th period. Major experiments carried out in the field of chemistry have come up with confirmations of Bohrium being a heavier homolog in comparison to the rhenium element found in the same group.
Bohrium Uses
Bohrium was produced for the first time in the year 1976 by a group of scientists indulged in experiments and research at the Dubna Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia. Later, Gottfried Münzenberg and Peter Armbruster, along with their team, confirmed the appearance and the use of Bohrium in the year 1981. This happened at the Darmstadt Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung located in Germany. The element was manufactured artificially by bombarding the bismuth-209 target with chromium-54 ions. The most stable isotope of this metal in Bohrium-270 that has a half-life of around 61 seconds. It is the alpha decay procedure through which Bohrium decays and forms dubnium-266.
Since very few atoms of this metal have been made till date, presently, there are no special or exclusive uses of Bohrium out of the field of scientific research. Also, because it rarely exists in nature, Bohrium is just used by scientific researchers with no side effects and uses of the metal known to individuals and organisations.
Bohrium Sources
The sources of Bohrium are not known till date. It is a metal that is produced artificially and is made in minimal quantities. The team of scientists at Dubna created this element by bombarding the target bismuth-204 with the heavy ions of chromium-54. You can do it by using a fast rotating cylinder covered with a fragile coating of bismuth-204. The chamber was used in the form of a target. It was barraged utilising a stream of the ions of chromium-54 ablaze obliquely. The whole procedure gave scientists the chance of getting a glimpse of the whole now metal for approximately 0.0002 seconds.
FAQs on Bohrium
1. What is Bohrium and where is it located in the periodic table?
Bohrium (symbol Bh) is a synthetic, superheavy chemical element with atomic number 107. It is not found in nature and is created in laboratories. In the periodic table, Bohrium is placed in Group 7 and Period 7. This positions it as a transactinide element and the heavier homologue to rhenium (Re), meaning it is expected to share similar chemical properties.
2. How is Bohrium synthesised and why is it not found naturally?
Bohrium is produced artificially through nuclear fusion reactions in a particle accelerator. It was first synthesised by bombarding a target of bismuth-209 with accelerated nuclei of chromium-54. Bohrium is not found naturally on Earth because all of its isotopes are extremely unstable and radioactive. With very short half-lives, any Bohrium atoms that might have existed at the time of Earth's formation would have decayed into other elements billions of years ago.
3. What are the predicted physical properties of Bohrium?
Since only a few atoms of Bohrium have ever been created, its physical properties have not been measured directly. However, based on its position in the periodic table below rhenium, scientists predict it would be:
- A solid metal at room temperature.
- Very dense, likely one of the densest elements if a sufficient amount could be gathered.
- Silvery-white or metallic grey in appearance, similar to other transition metals.
4. How does Bohrium's position in the periodic table help predict its chemical behaviour?
As a Group 7 element, Bohrium's chemistry is expected to strongly resemble that of rhenium and technetium. Scientists predict it would exhibit a wide range of oxidation states, with the +7 state being particularly stable. For example, it is expected to form a stable oxyanion, the perbohriate ion (BhO₄⁻), analogous to permanganate (MnO₄⁻) and perrhenate (ReO₄⁻). These predictions are crucial for designing experiments to study its chemical nature.
5. What is the official IUPAC name for element 107, and did it have a different name before?
The official IUPAC name for element 107 is Bohrium (Bh), named in honour of the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. Before it received its official name, it was known by the temporary, systematic IUPAC name Unnilseptium (symbol Uns), which literally means 'one-zero-seven' in Latin and Greek roots.
6. What makes Bohrium exceptionally difficult to study?
The primary challenge in studying Bohrium is its extreme instability. All known isotopes of Bohrium are highly radioactive and have incredibly short half-lives. The most stable isotope, bohrium-270, has a half-life of only about 60 seconds. This gives scientists a very narrow window of time to perform chemical experiments and confirm its properties before the atom decays into a different element, requiring highly specialised and rapid experimental techniques.
7. Are there any practical applications of Bohrium, and is it considered toxic?
Currently, Bohrium has no practical applications outside of fundamental scientific research. Its extreme rarity, high cost of production, and rapid decay make it unusable for any commercial, industrial, or medical purpose. Regarding its toxicity, while chemical toxicity is unknown, any substance that is intensely radioactive is inherently hazardous to living organisms due to the damaging effects of ionising radiation. Therefore, Bohrium is considered highly radiotoxic.
