Moscovium is a radioactive element synthesised in reactions between americium and calcium nuclei. It was identified through specialized nuclear measurements rather than a visible sample. Its group position connects it to lighter elements such as bismuth, but does not by itself establish bulk physical properties.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
Why do linked events carry more evidence for moscovium than an isolated detector pulse?
Moscovium nuclei and their daughter sequences
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Identify what the detector records
A pulse is an observed instrument response before it becomes a nuclear assignment. Its interpretation depends on the measurement context and its relationship to other relevant observations.
Explore the model (optional)
McFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Optional: check your understanding
USE THE EXPLANATION
Which question most directly tests the proposed nuclear interpretation?
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D115 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p3. 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 region’s contribution recognized years later
The Dubna–Livermore collaboration obtained evidence for element 115 in 2003 and reported the work in 2004. International discovery recognition came in 2015, followed by approval of moscovium in 2016. The name honors the Moscow region, home to Dubna’s laboratory. Its history highlights the patience required to connect a few nuclear events with reliable identification, and the further distinction between identifying and understanding their chemistry.
2003–2004
Synthesis and report
Experiments produce evidence for element 115, then publish the result.
2016
Name approved
Moscovium, Mc, is approved after discovery recognition in 2015.
Moscovium is produced artificially in accelerator experiments. It has no established natural occurrence as an or material resource. The observed atoms are radioactive and extremely scarce, so researchers identify particular through their sequences. No ordinary bulk sample is available for routine chemical or engineering measurements.
The neutral configuration is predicted, as are many proposed chemical properties. Moscovium belongs in group 15 by atomic number and expected electronic structure, but this does not make it experimentally equivalent to bismuth. Relativistic calculations explore its possible atomic states while nuclear observations establish the existence of its isotopes.
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
2003 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 15
N 3.04 Pauling · Nitrogen
Electronegativity down group 15. Exact values.
N
3.04
P
2.19
As
2.18
Sb
2.05
Bi
2.02
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.
