August 29, 1982 - Meitnerium synthesized for the first time

Methnerium, formerly called unilenium, is a chemical element of the periodic table whose symbol is Mt and atomic number is 109.

In the periodic table, it is a transactinide element of the 7th period of the d-series and is placed in group 9 of the elements, although no chemical experiments have yet been carried out to confirm that it behaves like the elements of this group. It has a high radioactivity and a short natural lifetime.

It is believed that meitnerium has similar properties to its lighter counterparts such as cobalt, rhodium, and iridium because it behaves like a metal.

It was first synthesized in 1982 by a German research team led by Peter Armbruster and Gottfried Münzenberg at the Institute for Heavy Ion Research (Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung) in Darmstadt, by bombarding bismuth-209 with accelerated iron-58 nuclei.

The creation of this element demonstrated that nuclear fusion techniques could be used to create new heavy nuclei.

Its applications are practically non-existent because its production is artificial and only 10 short-lived atoms have been obtained. For this reason, it is only used in scientific research.

The name meitnerium was suggested in honour of the mathematician and physicist, Lise Meitner. However, at the time, there was controversy about the names of the elements between 101 and 109, so the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted the name unnilenium (symbol Uno) temporarily as the element's systematic name. In 1997, the dispute was resolved and the current name was retained.