Nihonium
Nihonium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Nh and atomic number 113. It is a superheavy, radioactive element in Group 13 of the periodic table, known from a very small number of atoms made in accelerator experiments.
What nihonium is
Nihonium is element 113 on the periodic table. It is synthetic, radioactive, and superheavy, meaning it is made in nuclear laboratories rather than found as a usable natural material. It sits in Group 13 below thallium, but its extreme atomic number means its chemistry is expected to differ from lighter members of the group.
How it was made
Nihonium was produced by colliding atomic nuclei in a particle accelerator. In the experiments associated with its discovery, zinc-70 ions were fired at bismuth-209 targets. When the nuclei fused, they briefly created atoms of element 113, which were identified by tracking radioactive decay chains.
Discovery and name
The discovery is closely associated with scientists at RIKEN in Japan. The name nihonium comes from Nihon, one Japanese name for Japan, making it the first element whose discovery and naming were credited to an Asian country. IUPAC approved the name nihonium and the symbol Nh in 2016.
Place in Group 13
Group 13 includes boron, aluminum, gallium, indium, thallium, and nihonium. Lighter Group 13 elements have familiar roles in materials, electronics, metals, and chemistry. Nihonium belongs to the same column by electron structure, but only a few atoms have been observed, so its physical and chemical properties are mostly predictions.
Why properties are uncertain
Ordinary chemistry depends on having enough material to measure reactions, melting points, densities, and spectra. Nihonium experiments create isolated atoms that decay quickly. As a result, scientists use nuclear data, periodic trends, and relativistic quantum calculations to estimate how element 113 might behave.
Isotopes and decay
Known nihonium isotopes are radioactive and short-lived. They decay through alpha decay and related nuclear processes into lighter daughter nuclei. The sequence of these decays is important evidence: each step helps researchers connect a brief signal back to the original atom of element 113.
Superheavy element research
Nihonium is part of the wider effort to explore the limits of the periodic table. Superheavy-element research tests nuclear models, searches for longer-lived isotopes, and refines the accelerator methods needed to make atoms that exist for only fractions of a second.
Uses and limits
Nihonium has no practical commercial use. It cannot be stored, handled, or used like aluminum or gallium. Its importance is scientific: it helps test ideas about nuclear stability, element synthesis, and how chemical behavior changes when atoms become extremely heavy.
Why it matters
Nihonium matters because it marks a milestone in international element discovery and shows that the periodic table remains an active research frontier. It also gives scientists another data point for understanding the predicted island of stability and the behavior of matter at very high atomic numbers.