What is Seaborgium

Seaborgium (pronounced as see-BOR-ghee-um) is a synthetic radioactive metal, denoted by the symbol Sg, belonging to the family of transuranium elements ^{[1, 6]}. Though not much is known about its chemical properties, they are assumed to be similar to tungsten and molybdenum.

Seaborgium Isotopes

It has twelve isotopes of which the most stable one is seaborgium-271, with a half-life of 2.4 minutes. It undergoes decomposition naturally through alpha decay to form rutherfordium-267 ^[5].

History and Discovery of the Element

It is named after the American scientist and Nobel Prize Winner, Glenn T. Seaborg.

Albert Ghiorso, along with his team of scientists, discovered it in 1974, at the Lawrence Berkley Laboratory, Berkeley, California, US. They bombarded atoms of californium-249 with ions of oxygen-18 with super heavy ion linear accelerator to produce seaborgium-263. This discovery was confirmed in 1993, earning Ghiorso and his team the due credits ^[2].

Position of the Element on the Periodic Table ^{[1, 2]}

Group	6
Period	7
Block	d

Properties of Seaborgium ^{[1, 2, 3]}

General Properties
Atomic Weight	271
Atomic Mass	266 atomic mass units
Physical Properties
Color/Appearance	A dull to slightly shiny silvery white or metallic gray
Luster	Metallic
Odor	Unknown
Malleability	Unknown
Melting Point/Freezing Point	Unknown
Boiling Point	Unknown
Density	35 g/cm3 (unconfirmed)
Standard State of Matter at Room Temperature/ Normal Phase (Solid, Liquid, or Gas)	Solid (unconfirmed)
Electrical Conductivity (Sm-1)	Unknown
Magnetic Properties
Magnetic Type	Paramagnetic
Mass Magnetic Susceptibility	6.66×10-8 m3/Kg
Molar Magnetic Susceptibility	5.921×10-9 m3/mol
Volume Magnetic Susceptibility	0.0002978
Chemical Properties
Flammability		Unknown
Oxidation state/Oxidation number		+6

Atomic Data of the Element ^{[1, 2, 3]}

Atomic Number	106
Valence Electrons	6d4 7s2
Electron Configuration/Noble Gas Configuration	[Rn] 5f14 6d4 7s2
Atomic Structure
–          Number of Electrons	106
–          Number of Neutrons	165
–          Number of Protons	106
Energy Levels
–          First Energy Level	2
–          Second Energy Level	8
–          Third Energy Level	18
–          Fourth Energy Level	32
–          Fifth Energy Level	32
–          Sixth Energy Level	12
–          Seventh Energy Level	2
Radius of Atom
–          Atomic Radius	–
–          Covalent Radius	1.43 Å
Electronegativity	Unknown
Ionization Energy	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
	–	–	–	–

Uses of Seaborgium

As only a few atoms of the element have been synthesized, and it cannot be found freely in nature, it does not have any commercial uses other than in basic scientific studies. However, it may have dangerous effects due to its radioactive nature ^{[1, 3]}.

Interesting Facts

• Sg is considered to be the heaviest element in group 6 and the third one in the 6d series of transition metals.
• As Seaborgium was named after a living scientist, it led the IUPAC to pass a rule that no element should be named after a living person. However, the ruling was soon removed, keeping einsteinium in mind, another element named after Albert Einstein during his lifetime ^[4].
• In 2014, some research groups from Mainz and Darmstadt at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Research (RNC) in Japan established a chemical bond between seaborgium and a carbon atom for the first time ^[7].

Seaborgium Cost

Since Sg does not exist naturally for its short half-life, it cannot be availed outside of nuclear laboratory production.

References
1. http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/106/seaborgium
2. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele106.html
3. https://www.chemicool.com/elements/seaborgium.html
4. http://www.softschools.com/facts/periodic_table/seaborgium_facts/708/
5. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/iso106.html
6. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/1997/0319/seaborgium.html
7. http://www.uni-mainz.de/presse/17619_ENG_HTML.php