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moscovium

Moscovium (symbol Mc) is a synthetic, radioactive chemical element with atomic number 115. It is a superheavy element that does not occur naturally and has no stable isotopes; all known isotopes decay rapidly, typically within milliseconds to a few seconds. The most stable known isotope is 290Mc, with a half-life on the order of a fraction of a second.

Discovery and naming: Moscovium was first synthesized in 2003 by a collaboration between researchers at the

Placement in the periodic table and chemistry: Moscovium is located in group 15 (the pnictogens) and period

Applications and significance: Moscovium has no practical applications given its fleeting existence. It is studied primarily

Joint
Institute
for
Nuclear
Research
in
Dubna,
Russia,
and
Lawrence
Livermore
National
Laboratory
in
the
United
States.
The
element
was
produced
by
bombarding
a
target
of
americium-243
with
a
beam
of
calcium-48
ions,
a
method
known
as
hot
fusion.
Its
existence
was
confirmed
through
the
detection
of
alpha
decays
and
correlated
daughter
products.
In
2016,
IUPAC
officially
adopted
the
name
Moscovium,
recognizing
its
association
with
the
Moscow
region
in
Russia.
7
of
the
periodic
table,
making
it
a
heavy
member
of
the
same
group
as
nitrogen,
phosphorus,
arsenic,
and
antimony.
Due
to
extreme
relativistic
effects
and
very
short
half-lives,
experimental
chemistry
of
Moscovium
remains
limited
and
is
largely
guided
by
theoretical
predictions.
It
is
expected
to
form
multiple
oxidation
states,
with
+3
and
+5
often
discussed
in
predictions,
but
concrete
chemical
experiments
have
been
challenging.
Consequently,
detailed
chemical
properties
are
not
yet
well
established
and
are
subject
to
refinement
as
new
data
emerge.
to
explore
the
limits
of
the
periodic
table,
nuclear
stability,
and
the
behavior
of
superheavy
elements
under
extreme
conditions.