Seaborgium is a radioactive element made in accelerator experiments, including reactions between californium and oxygen nuclei. The atoms are studied in tiny quantities for research. Its group position links it to molybdenum and tungsten, while measurements are needed to test what similarities actually hold.
FROM ELEMENT TO APPLICATION
AN ELEMENT IN CONTEXT
What does a seaborgium carbonyl experiment test beyond elemental identity?
Seaborgium hexacarbonyl in gas-phase research
FOLLOW THIS RELATIONSHIP
Identify a molecular question
Seaborgium hexacarbonyl research asks about a metal-containing molecule. Establishing that seaborgium nuclei exist is necessary background but does not establish which molecular species they can form.
Explore the model (optional)
SgFORM → INTERACTION → CONSEQUENCE
Follow the explanation in either direction. These are authored steps, not a physical clock.
Optional: check your understanding
USE THE EXPLANATION
What is the most direct scope of the reported evidence?
Atomic identity, reference properties and structure models
INTERACTIVE 3D106 visible sites
An electron censusDrag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
[Rn] 5f14 6d4 7s2. 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.
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HISTORY & HUMAN DISCOVERY
From the actinide concept to a carbonyl complex
Seaborgium was established through Berkeley experiments in 1974. Its eventual name honored Glenn Seaborg, whose actinide concept and transuranium discoveries had reshaped the periodic table. Naming was resolved internationally in 1997, well after the experimental discovery. Later chemistry supplied a particularly tangible molecular question: could this fleeting group 6 element form a carbonyl complex comparable to those of molybdenum and tungsten?
1974
Discovery
Berkeley experiments establish element 106.
1997
Name adopted
Seaborgium, Sg, becomes the internationally agreed name.
Seaborgium has been made in accelerator-based nuclear reactions and has no known natural material resource. Chemistry studies must create suitable and observe their products quickly. The existence of an identified seaborgium compound therefore means a small number of detected molecules, not a bottle available for ordinary manufacturing or classroom experiments.
The neutral-atom configuration is predicted. Experimental evidence nevertheless goes beyond nuclear : seaborgium has been studied in solution and in a carbonyl complex. These observations support comparisons with group 6 elements. They do not supply measured bulk properties for elemental seaborgium, which remains unavailable as a macroscopic material.
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
1974 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 6
Cr 1.66 Pauling · Chromium
Electronegativity down group 6. Exact values.
Cr
1.66
Mo
2.16
W
2.36
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.
