MadSci Network: Science History |
"Unnilhexium" is the previous, systematic name of seaborgium. The name comes from the atomic number: 1(un)-0(nil)-6(hex), or "106ium."
There was a big naming controversy about seaborgium in particular, because it was the first element ever named for someone who was not yet dead. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) got its back up about that, but eventually saner heads prevailed and the discoverers were permitted to name it.
There is no use for seborgium, and in fact no one has ever made a visible quantity of the stuff. For more information on this and other elements, go to WebElements.
Dan Berger | |
MadSci Administrator |
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