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Copernicium

Copernicium is a synthetic element (number 112) produced from the fusion of lead and zinc. It took German scientists several weeks to produce one atom of this element by bombarding billions and billions of zinc atoms at a lead target. This first successful fusion took place on February 9, 1996. Its synthesis raised scientists' optimism for penetrating further into the region of super heavy atoms.

Copernicium decays after a fraction of a thousandth of a second, emitting alpha particles – fast-moving helium-like particles – to produce element 110. Eventually, darmstadtium (element 110) dissociates to fermium (element 100) through the intermediate production of hassium (element 108).

Element 112 is named Copernicium after the famed scholar and scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, whose work had exceptional influence on the rise of modern science. It was Copernicus who proposed a new model for the movement of the Sun, Moon, planet and stars, placing the Sun, and not the Earth, at the centre of the universe. His work stimulated further scientific investigations, becoming a landmark in the history of science that is often referred to as the Copernican Revolution. Notably, Copernicus’ model of the universe is mirrored on a microscopic scale by the Bohr model of the atom, with its nucleus and orbiting electrons.