Nihonium

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /nɪˈhoʊ.ni.əm/

Definitions

1. A synthetic element with the symbol Nh and atomic number 113, discovered as part of the transactinide series
2. A recently added element to the periodic table, known for being part of the group of superheavy elements
3. An artificially created element that does not occur naturally and is named after the country of Japan

Etymology: Nihonium is one of the few chemical elements named after a country where it was made, and the country is Japan. The element has atomic number 113 and was first produced at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, the Japanese research institute that claimed its discovery. Its name comes from "Nihon," the Japanese name for Japan, with the Latin-style suffix "-ium" added, the same ending used for elements such as helium and sodium. The name was not chosen quickly. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry approved it in June 2016, after the RIKEN team's recommendations, so the element went without a permanent name for years while its discovery was being verified. The name therefore honors the country rather than a scientist or a mineral source. Nihonium has a near-twin in the naming world: "nipponium" was an earlier proposal for the same Japanese element, making the two words doublets, both drawn from the Japanese name for the country.