Ununpentium

Introduction

Ununpentium is one of the newest members of the periodic table. As it does not have any kind of permanent name at the time of discovery, scientists decided to name it Ununpentium, which is a combination of Latin and Greek words means one-one-five with is the atomic number of 115. The atomic number of the element is referred to as the number of protons is contained by the nucleus of the element.

What is Ununpentium?

The Ununpentium is a typically heavy chemical element and produced artificially which cannot be found freely in nature. It is also known as moscovium with a chemical symbol of Mc. It has some radioactive characteristics with an atomic number of 115, and is represented with the symbol of Uup.

Figure 1: Ununpentium

anonymous, Electron shell 115 ununpentium, CC BY-SA 2.0 UK

Ununpentium behaves as a metal solid at room temperature. In very little time, it transforms into other elements, which makes a harder job to the identification of its major characteristics. It is unstable and the most stable isotope of Ununpentium can last 0.65 seconds.

Ununpentium is found in the 7^th period and belongs to 15^th group of the periodic table. It shows similar kinds of properties as its lighter homologues show like, nitrogen, phosphorus etc. In the year 2016, it was named after the scientist Moscow Oblast to honour him, as moscovium.

Discovery of Ununpentium

In 2003, the ununpentium was first successfully synthesised by the joint attempt of Russian and American scientists. It is one of the transuranium elements, which only exists in theoretical thoughts before its discovery. The ununpentium was created with the help of Ca-48 to target Am-243 and created 4 Uup atoms. It results in the formation of element of 115, which was decayed and takes the form of ununpentium, and it is believed as a lighter synthetic elements. It can be degraded to the lighter atoms, with the help of further experiments.

In 2005, the scientists refused to give any kind of confirmation about the discovery of the element. In 2011, in another experiment, at least 30 atoms of Uup were produced then only the lead researchers of the joint team gave hope about its existence and indicated that it would be added to the periodic table soon as the newest element.

After the experiment, it was given a temporary name; one permanent name will be assigned to it after the final review by joint committee of IUPAP and IUPAC. The other two isotopes of Uup are Uup-290 and Uup-289 and these are heavier. These two isotopes have been discovered in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Properties of Ununpentium

The atomic number of moscovium or Ununpentium is 115 and the atomic mass is 290 amu. There are many important properties of Ununpentium, which are still unknown such as, the electronegativity, density, melting, boiling point, and Van Der Waals radius. The ionic radius of Ununpentium is 1.62 and it has only one stable isotope. The electronic configuration is $\mathrm{[Rn] 5f^{14}6d^{10}7s^27p^3}$. The energy level of the first ionization is still unknown and yet to be discovered.

Source of Ununpentium

The ununpentium does not found in nature freely because it is a heavy element with a complex structure. It should be produced artificially for serving the basic purpose. Equipment named cyclotron is used to make the ununpentium. The most stable isotope of it cannot be stable more than a fraction of milliseconds.

Uses and Health Aspects of Ununpentium

Finite amount of Ununpentium can be produced significantly; hence, it is used only for a small amount of scientific study and research purposes. However, it can be used in the making of metal ununtrium. As the chemical and physical properties of Ununpentium are not completely known, it does not have any kind of biological purpose.

The basic nature of ununpentium is radioactive and it is believed as harmful to humans. However, it has a very little life span and by nature it is unstable. This is the greatest obstacle in the further research about the effects of ununpentium on humans.

Conclusion

Ununpentium is one of newer elements that have been added to the periodic table. The basic nature makes it different from other existing elements. The key properties are radioactive and synthetic elements and it shows similar properties to metal bismuth. It is produced in the process with the help of atoms of Americium-243 with the ions of calcium-48 and the bombarding of these two elements produces the Ununpentium.

FAQs

Q1. What is the main application of Ununpentium?

Ans. Ununpentium is produced in a very little amount and for that reason; it is only used for research and scientific study purposes. Many of its characteristics are still unknown and it does not have any kind of biological role, but it is used for the industrial purpose to produce metal ununtrium.

Q2. What is the Nature of Ununpentium?

Ans. Ununpentium is believed to be injurious to living organisms because it is radioactive by nature. As it has a very short lifetime, there is nothing to worry about the radioactivity of Ununpentium.

Q3. Which element is considered the Oldest One?

Ans. Phosphorus is considered the oldest element present on this planet. It is also marked in the tabular chart because it is arranged by the discovery date. It has many chemical and physical properties those make it useful for both research-oriented use and human life.

Q4. What were the first elements known to the Human Race?

Ans. Three elements should be known by humans in the very first place and those are hydrogen, a little bit of lithium, and some amount of helium. These elements are in the earth for more than 14 billion years or from the beginning.