Element Facts
SYMBOL
Rg
ATOMIC NO.
111
ATOMIC WEIGHT
282
CATEGORY
Transition Metal
PERIOD
Period 7
GROUP
Group 11
Background
Roentgenium was first synthesised in 1994 at GSI Darmstadt by Sigurd Hofmann and colleagues, by bombarding bismuth-209 with nickel-64 ions — in the same 1994 experimental run as darmstadtium. Named in 2004 after Wilhelm Röntgen, the German physicist who discovered X-rays in 1895 and was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. The connection between Röntgen and roentgenium reflects the tradition of naming elements after pioneering physicists.
Industrial Uses
Roentgenium has no practical applications. Only a handful of atoms have ever been produced. It is studied theoretically for its predicted chemical properties as a group-11 element (below gold) where strong relativistic effects are expected.
Scrap Viability
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Roentgenium:
Roentgenium’s most stable isotope has a half-life of approximately 26 seconds. It exists only momentarily as individual atoms in particle accelerators. No commercial application or scrap trade is conceivable.
What It's Worth
No commercial market. Produced one atom at a time in specialised particle accelerators at national research facilities.