Wilhelm Roentgen discovered rays that pass through the body and reveal bones. For this, he became the first Nobel Prize laureate in Physics. Element 111 was named in his honor — the "super-gold" among superheavy elements. Roentgenium belongs to the same group as copper, silver, and gold. But relativistic effects are so strong that it may be more inert than any of them — possibly even a gas at room temperature.
Roentgenium was discovered at the same GSI institute in 1994 — just weeks after darmstadtium. Lead was bombarded with nickel-64 ions. Wilhelm Röntgen, the element's namesake, discovered X-rays in 1895 and became the world's first Nobel Prize laureate in Physics.
Theory predicts roentgenium may be the 'most noble' of all metals — even more corrosion-resistant than gold. But verifying this is currently impossible: too few atoms have been synthesized.
Roentgenium is extremely radioactive and exists only minutes. It's synthesized a few atoms at a time in accelerators. It poses no practical threat.
Wilhelm Roentgen became the very first Nobel Prize laureate in Physics (1901). He refused to patent his rays so they would remain accessible to everyone.
Roentgenium is gold's cousin in group 11. But theory predicts it may even be an inert gas at room temperature. Compared to roentgenium, gold looks like a reactive metal!
The most stable isotope Rg-282 lives about 2 minutes. This allowed the first basic chemical experiments — a rarity for elements in this region.
Theorists predict roentgenium may be the 'most noble' metal — even more resistant than gold. Relativistic contraction of the 7s orbital makes its electron structure exceptionally stable.
Wilhelm Röntgen refused to patent his X-rays because he believed scientific discoveries belong to all humanity. He died nearly penniless, but his legacy saves millions of lives every day.
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
280Rg☢ | 280.165140 | synthetic | 3.6 seconds | α |
282Rg☢ | 282.169120 | synthetic | 0.5 seconds | α |
Linear accelerator bombardment of bismuth