livermorium

livermorium (Lv), artificially produced transuranium element of atomic number 116. In 2000 scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, announced the production of atoms of livermorium when curium-248 was fused with calcium-48. The resulting atoms of livermorium had an atomic weight of 292 and decayed through the emission of an alpha particle (helium nucleus) into flerovium. Three other isotopes of livermorium are known; the longest-lasting has an atomic weight of 293 and a half-life of 53 milliseconds. Its chemical properties may be similar to those of polonium.

In June 2011 the discovery of element 116 was recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). The discoverers named it livermorium after Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in December 2011, and IUPAC approved the name in May 2012.