Following the 80th Meeting of the Bureau in Bled, Slovenia, the
name roentgenium for the element of atomic number 111, with
symbol Rg was officially approved as of 1 November 2004.
The IUPAC Council, at its meeting at Ottawa, Canada in 2003, delegated
the authority to approve a name for the element of atomic number
111 to the Bureau.
In 2003, a joint IUPAC-IUPAP Working Party (JWP) confirmed the
discovery of element number 111 by the collaboration of Hofmann
et al. from the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung mbH (GSI)
in Darmstadt, Germany (Pure
Appl. Chem. 75,
1601-1611 (2003)). The most relevant experiment resulted from
fusion-evaporation using a 64Ni beam on a 209Bi
target, which produced a total of six decay chains of alpha-emitting
nuclides following the presumed formation of 272Rg +
n (S. Hofmann et al., Z. Phys. A 350, 281-282 (1995);
S. Hofmann et al., Eur. Phys. J. A 14, 147-157 (2002)).
In accordance with IUPAC procedures, the discoverers proposed a
name and symbol for the element. The proposed name was roentgenium,
with symbol Rg. The Inorganic Chemistry Division Committee
then recommended this proposal for acceptance and the provisional
recommendation has now successfully passed expert examination and
the prescribed period of public scrutiny. This proposal lies within
the long-established tradition of naming elements to honor famous
scientists.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays on 8 November 1895, a
new type of rays to which he gave this name in view of their uncertain
nature. Their use has subsequently revolutionized medicine, found
wide application in technology and heralded the age of modern physics,
which is based on atomic and nuclear properties. In 1901, six years
after their discovery, the benefit of X-rays to mankind was so evident
that Roentgen was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics. Element
111 was synthesized exactly 100 years after Roentgen's discovery.
To honor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the name, roentgenium, was proposed
for the element with atomic number 111.
IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia.
For nearly 85 years, the Union has succeeded in fostering worldwide
communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic,
industrial and public sector chemistry in a common language. IUPAC
is recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology,
standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights and many other
critically evaluated data. More information about IUPAC and its
activities is available at www.iupac.org.
For specific questions regarding the discovery and naming of Rg,
contact Prof. John Corish <[email protected]>
or Dr. Gerd Rosenblatt <[email protected]>.
For general questions about IUPAC, contact Erin Slagle, IUPAC Communications
Specialist <[email protected]>.
<announcement published in
Chem. Int. Jan/Feb 2005 issue>
>
link to IUPAC Recommendations, Pure
Appl. Chem.
76(12), 2101-2103, 2004
>
link to FAQs about
the Chemical Elements
>
Interested in the Creation of New Elements? visit
the GSI lab
<www.gsi.de>