Element Facts
SYMBOL
Bh
ATOMIC NO.
107
ATOMIC WEIGHT
270
CATEGORY
Transition Metal
PERIOD
Period 7
GROUP
Group 7
Origins
Bohrium was first synthesised in 1981 at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany, by Peter Armbruster, Gottfried Münzenberg, and colleagues, by bombarding bismuth-209 with chromium-54 ions. Named in 1997 after Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist who developed the quantum model of the atom and made foundational contributions to understanding nuclear structure. Bohr received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
Modern Applications
Bohrium has no practical applications. Only about 100 atoms have ever been produced. It is studied to investigate the chemistry of superheavy group-7 elements and to verify relativistic quantum mechanical predictions.
At the Yard
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Bohrium:
Bohrium’s most stable isotope (bohrium-270) has a half-life of approximately 61 seconds. It exists only briefly as individual atoms in particle accelerators. No commercial application or scrap trade is conceivable.
Market Value
No commercial market. Bohrium cannot be produced in any weighable quantity. Its existence is confirmed only by detecting the decay products of individual atoms.