Darmstadtium is a radioactive research element whose recognized discovery involved bombarding lead with nickel nuclei at GSI. The element was identified through nuclear events in a specialized detector. Its position below platinum offers a comparison to investigate, rather than proof that bulk properties match.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How is a darmstadtium nuclear isomer different from another isotope?
Darmstadtium nuclei in excited-state research
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Keep the nuclear inventory fixed
A nuclear isomer is an excited state of a nucleus with the same proton and neutron counts as another state. It is not defined by a changed elemental or isotope inventory.
Explore the model (optional)
DsFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Optional: check your understanding
USE THE EXPLANATION
Which change defines the nuclear-isomer comparison here?
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D110 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Rn] 5f14 6d9 7s1. Grouping electrons by principal shell connects the neutral-atom configuration to periodic-table patterns.
What this representation means
A three-dimensional counting diagram. Dots are count markers, not measured electron positions; spherical placement and spacing are arbitrary. There are no electron trajectories here. Orbitals describe quantum states.
For superheavy elements, this configuration is a theoretical assignment. It does not establish measured bulk chemistry or a material state.
Loading reference properties…
HISTORY & HUMAN DISCOVERY
A city honored after a fleeting signal
Darmstadtium was identified at GSI in November 1994, beginning a particularly productive period in the search for heavier . The name honors Darmstadt, the laboratory’s home city, and was approved in 2003. Years separated discovery from naming because establishing and evaluating evidence comes first. The element’s brief existence has nevertheless allowed investigations of different nuclear states, showing that useful science does not require an enduring macroscopic material.
Darmstadtium is produced artificially in nuclear-reaction experiments and can also appear within sequences of heavier nuclei. No natural material deposit is established. Researchers study detected atoms and their radioactive transformations, not collected pieces of metal; a periodic-table image of a shiny surface is therefore an illustration rather than an observed sample.
RSC lists the neutral configuration shown here, but this superheavy configuration is predicted rather than experimentally mapped; theoretical assignments can differ. Its placement below platinum suggests questions about group 10 chemistry, not demonstrated platinum-like bulk properties. Nuclear decay measurements provide much firmer direct evidence than an imagined hardness, color or melting point.
Each section links its supporting references. Descriptions and diagrams were authored for this atlas. Source checks completed. Source checks dated 2026-09-06.
CITE THIS PAGE
Family labels and the group-3 layout are teaching conventions. A table position does not establish an unknown bulk property. Electronic configurations refer to neutral atoms; ions and material environments require their own account.
Read each reference property together with its units, conditions and the reference information below.
Not yet recorded: electron affinity, second ionization energy, ground-state term symbol, van der waals radius, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, electrical resistivity, crystal structure, lattice parameter a, space group, abundance in seawater, abundance in the universe, annual production, supply-risk listing, hazard classification, biological role, cas registry number, pubchem cid, wikidata item. These families are declared and awaiting an ingestion run against the source each names; they are listed here rather than shown as empty rows.
Physical
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Phase at 20 °C
Not recorded
293.15 K, 101.325 kPa
Melting point
Not recorded
at standard pressure unless noted
Boiling point
Not recorded
101.325 kPa
Density
Not recorded
solids and liquids at 293 K; gases at 273 K and 101.325 kPa
Atomic and electronic
Intended reference: Pauling electronegativity scale · Widely tabulated; original in The Nature of the Chemical Bond
Electronegativity
Not recorded
Pauling scale
First ionization energy
Not recorded
gas-phase neutral atom, ground state
Covalent radius
Not recorded
single-bond covalent radius
Common oxidation states
Not recorded
states met in ordinary compounds; not exhaustive
Occurrence and identity
Intended reference: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · CRC Press
Abundance in the crust
Not recorded
upper continental crust, mass fraction
Has stable isotopes
Noderived
Discovery year in CE
1994 CEderived
WHERE IT SITS AMONG ITS NEIGHBORS
Electronegativity across period 7
Ra 0.9 Pauling · Radium
Electronegativity across period 7. Exact values.
Ra
0.9
Ac
1.1
Th
1.3
Pa
1.5
U
1.38
Np
1.36
Pu
1.28
Am
1.13
Cm
1.28
Bk
1.3
Cf
1.3
Es
1.3
Fm
1.3
Md
1.3
No
1.3
Lr
1.3
Electronegativity down group 10
Ni 1.91 Pauling · Nickel
Electronegativity down group 10. Exact values.
Ni
1.91
Pd
2.2
Pt
2.28
The trend uses the same reference-property values as the periodic table. Elements with no recorded value are left out of the line rather than drawn at zero.
