Vol. 32 No. 5
September-October 2010

Naming Ceremony for Element 112 in Darmstadt

The July 2010 celebration of element 112 at Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (Center for Heavy Ion Research) in Darmstadt, Germany.

On 12 July 2010, the chemical element with the atomic number 112 was “christened” copernicium at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, where it was discovered. This symbolic christening celebrated the element’s eternal entry into the periodic table of elements. Copernicium is 277 times heavier than hydrogen and the heaviest element officially recognized in the periodic table. Its name honors the great astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543).

IUPAC Treasurer John Corish, former president of the Inorganic Chemistry Division, participated in the ceremony. Corish is the corresponding author on the IUPAC 2010 recommendations releasing the name and symbol of the element with atomic number 112.

IUPAC Treasurer John Corish (right) and Gottfried Münzenberg, a driving force in the GSI team.

Element 112 was discovered by an international team of scientists headed by professor Sigurd Hofmann at GSI. The new element has officially carried the name copernicium and the symbol “Cn” since 19 February 2010.* Naming the element after scientist Nicolaus Copernicus follows the longstanding tradition of choosing an accomplished scientist as eponym. Copernicus’ work in astronomy is the basis of our modern world view, which states that the Sun is the center of our solar system with the Earth and all the other planets circling around it.

Copernicium is the sixth chemical element that GSI scientists discovered and named. The other elements carry the names bohrium (element 107), hassium (element 108), meitnerium (element 109), darmstadtium (element 110), and roentgenium (element 111).

*www.iupac.org/publications/ci/2010/3202/iw1_copernicus.html
www.gsi.de/portrait/presse/Pressemeldungen/12072010_e.html