Nihonium was created at RIKEN by colliding accelerated zinc ions with a bismuth target. The very low probability of a successful event required sustained experiments and careful detection. Its discovery connects precision accelerator engineering with the evidence needed to identify an element present only fleetingly.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
How can a recognized daughter anchor a nihonium discovery chain?
Nihonium isotopes in correlated-decay research
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Start with the proposed sequence
A production experiment associates a series of nuclear events with a candidate nihonium nucleus. The scientific claim depends on the relationships among those events, not on one isolated signal.
Explore the model (optional)
NhFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Optional: check your understanding
USE THE EXPLANATION
What gives the daughter observation its value for the parent assignment?
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D113 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Rn] 5f14 6d10 7s2 7p1. 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
Japan’s name in a completed period
RIKEN researchers observed a first event associated with element 113 in 2004, followed by further evidence in 2005 and 2012. The later sequence strengthened the connection to known . Discovery credit was recognized in 2015, and the name nihonium, derived from a Japanese name for Japan, was approved in 2016. These separate milestones show why first observation, accepted discovery and naming should remain distinct in an element’s history.
2004
First RIKEN event
The team observes its first candidate decay chain for element 113.
2016
Name approved
Nihonium, Nh, is approved after recognition of the discovery in 2015.
Nihonium is an artificially produced element observed in very small numbers of radioactive atoms. It is not known as a natural resource or an ordinary material supply. Individual nuclei can be produced directly or encountered within heavier decay sequences, so the route and assignment belong with each experimental claim.
The neutral configuration shown here is predicted. Its 7p places nihonium in group 13, but relativistic electronic effects make direct extrapolation from thallium incomplete. Atomic calculations and scarce chemical evidence address particular questions; they do not justify assigning measured mechanical properties or an observed bulk appearance to nihonium metal.
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
2004 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 13
B 2.04 Pauling · Boron
Electronegativity down group 13. Exact values.
B
2.04
Al
1.61
Ga
1.81
In
1.78
Tl
1.62
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.
