Glenn Seaborg discovered 10 chemical elements — more than anyone in history. When scientists wanted to name element 106 after him, controversy erupted: tradition forbade naming elements after living people. But Seaborg earned it. His element was synthesized in 1974, and its chemistry was studied using just 7 atoms at once. Seaborgium behaves like a heavier cousin of tungsten — it even forms volatile oxides, just like its lighter analog.
Seaborgium is created by bombarding californium-249 with oxygen ions or lead-208 with chromium ions. Single-atom chemistry experiments confirmed it behaves like tungsten and molybdenum, forming oxyhalides.
Glenn Seaborg, the element's namesake, was the only chemist who could look up 'his' element in the periodic table during his lifetime. He discovered or co-discovered 10 transuranium elements and won the Nobel Prize in 1951.
Seaborgium is extremely radioactive. It exists only minutes and is synthesized a few atoms at a time. It poses no practical threat — available only in specialized labs with heavy-ion accelerators.
Glenn Seaborg is the only person to have an element named after them while still alive. He discovered plutonium, americium, curium, and 7 more elements. He won the Nobel Prize at age 39.
In 1997, scientists studied seaborgium's chemistry using just 7 atoms. They found it forms a volatile oxide, like tungsten — proving the periodic law works even here.
The most stable isotope Sg-269 lives 14 minutes. That's barely enough for a chemistry experiment — scientists literally race against decay.
Glenn Seaborg was the only person to have an element in the periodic table named after them while still alive. The tradition was to name elements after deceased scientists, but an exception was made for Seaborg.
Seaborgium's chemistry was studied literally one atom at a time. Scientists created a single atom, ran a reaction with it, and analyzed the product — all within minutes before decay.
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
266Sg☢ | 266.122100 | synthetic | 21 seconds | α/SF |
269Sg☢ | 269.128630 | synthetic | 14 minutes | α |
Cyclotron bombardment of californium/lead