The element 112 is named 'Copernicum'.

Named Copernicium to pay homage to an influential scientist in the history of human civilization, to highlight the connection between astronomy and the field of nuclear chemistry.

When talking to the inventor of element 112, Sigurd Hofmann, about the meaning of naming a newcomer on the periodic table, he said he wanted to take the name of a celebrity so as to avoid phenomena. national colors '. Now, Hofmann and his team have announced their decision.

Hello " Copernicium "!

Periodic table of chemical elements (Photo: SPL)

By honoring the father of the Japanese Heart Theory (the earth circling the sun), the leader of the 112 element inventor Sigurd Hofmann wanted to avoid the path of naming the previous elements, and to show his gratitude. respect an influential scientist in the history of human civilization to highlight the link between Hofmann's Astronomy and the field of Nuclear Chemistry.

' Our idea is to return to the past to honor someone who is not appreciated throughout life ' - Prof. Hofmann said - ' We chose Copernicus because he had to consider when to publish. his works. His work was born on the day he died. He was afraid to say these things when he was alive. So when he was in the world, he was never honored '.

At first, when giving the idea that most people mentioned Galileo's name, when Hofmann asked Copernicus, everyone agreed.

Give up old sticky

Element 112 is the 6th element that Hofmann's research facility, GSI Institute, synthesized. The last four elements invented previously named the cities and states of Germany. Placing the name of the element 112 by the name of a Polish classical scientist, Hofmann abandoned the nationalist habits of the previous times.

He continued: " After we named the element by city or state names, we wanted to express our views with a familiar name for everyone. We don't want to choose a name. a German, we look at the wider world . '

Astronomer genius Copernicus (Photo: arizona.edu)

In addition, Hofmann wanted to express the contribution of nuclear chemistry to other fields, especially astrophysics. Many key points of Astrophysics are devoted to studying the formation of the Universe during and after the Big Bang. In particular, astrophysicists are seeking to explain how fundamental particles of matter have condensed into heavy elements to make the world we know. Any model of heavy element formation is included in research by scientists like Hofmann.

Previously, Hofmann had objected to the tendency to name a new element after the nuclear physicist like Niels Bohr, and proposed a scientist to direct his gaze to the sky rather than looking down at the ground.

Hofmann added: ' We will wait for the IUPAC to recognize the new name but our current goal is to search for the 120 ' element . IUPAC will consider, consult and decide only after 6 months.