Niels Bohr created the atomic model taught in every school — the one with electrons orbiting the nucleus. Element 107 was named in his honor, synthesized in 1981 in Germany. It took billions of particle collisions over months to produce just 5 atoms. Bohrium lives only seconds and is nearly impossible to study. Theory predicts it resembles rhenium, but verifying this remains out of reach.
Bohrium was created by scientists at the Institute for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. They bombarded a bismuth target with chromium ions. A single atom was produced — and that was enough for discovery.
Chemical experiments with bohrium are extraordinarily difficult: its half-life is only minutes. Yet even a few atoms showed it forms oxychlorides — just like its lighter analog rhenium. The periodic law holds even for element 107.
Bohrium is extremely radioactive and exists only seconds. It's synthesized a few atoms at a time in specialized accelerators. It poses no practical threat.
Niels Bohr wasn't just a physicist — he was also a footballer. In his youth, he played for Denmark's national team. He chose science instead and created the atomic model that earned him the Nobel Prize.
The first synthesis of bohrium took months. Billions of particle collisions — and only 5 atoms produced. Each existed for less than a minute.
Bohrium's chemistry is virtually impossible to study. The most stable isotope lives about a minute. Everything we know about its properties is based on theoretical calculations.
Niels Bohr was one of the founders of quantum mechanics. He created the atomic model with electron orbits and won the Nobel Prize in 1922. His son Aage Bohr also became a Nobel laureate.
GSI Darmstadt is an 'element factory.' Six superheavy elements were discovered here: bohrium, hassium, meitnerium, darmstadtium, roentgenium, and copernicium. No other lab can match that record.
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
267Bh☢ | 267.127500 | synthetic | 17 seconds | α |
270Bh☢ | 270.133360 | synthetic | 1 minute | α |
Linear accelerator bombardment of bismuth