Structure
Not a diagram of dots on rings — a Monte-Carlo sample of the actual probability density |ψ|² for each occupied subshell. Drag to rotate. Blue and violet mark opposite signs of the wavefunction, which is what makes bonding possible.
Measured values
Every bar shows where livermorium sits among all 118 elements for that property.
Sources: IUPAC 2021 standard atomic weights · CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics · NIST. Values marked ~ are predicted rather than measured.
Size, to scale
Radius 247 pm — that is 0.247 nm, so about 2024 million of them side by side would span a millimetre.
Thermal range
Livermorium is liquid over a 412 K window, from 623 K to 1035 K.
The story
Made by fusing calcium-48 with curium-248, and decays within milliseconds.
Russian Nuclear Physics Excellence: Livermorium discovery represents another triumph of Russian superheavy element research, achieved by an international team led by Yuri Oganessian at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, continuing Russia's leadership in pushing the periodic table's boundaries.
Six-Year Research Campaign: The livermorium discovery required six years of systematic experimentation from 2000 to 2006, involving continuous refinement of synthesis techniques, target preparation methods, and sophisticated particle detection systems to achieve reproducible results.
International Cooperation: While led by JINR, the discovery involved collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States, demonstrating how shared expertise and resources enable breakthrough achievements in fundamental science.
Technical Breakthroughs: Creating livermorium required developing improved ion beam focusing systems, enhanced target cooling techniques, and more sensitive particle identification methods that advanced the entire field of superheavy element research.
IUPAC Recognition: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry officially recognized JINR's discovery in 2011, granting the team naming rights. "Livermorium" honors Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for their crucial contributions to superheavy element research.
Scientific Significance: Livermorium's discovery provided important validation of theoretical predictions about superheavy element synthesis pathways and contributed crucial data about nuclear stability in the superheavy element region.
Global Impact: The achievement strengthened international cooperation in nuclear physics and demonstrated how advanced scientific facilities can achieve remarkable breakthroughs through sustained effort, technological innovation, and collaborative research.
Applications
Superheavy Element Decay Studies: Livermorium provides crucial data about alpha decay patterns and nuclear stability in the superheavy element region. Its relatively long half-life (for superheavy elements) allows detailed study of decay mechanisms and nuclear structure properties.
Island of Stability Research: As element 116, livermorium occupies a strategic position approaching the theorized island of stability where superheavy elements might exist for extended periods. Research focuses on understanding nuclear shell effects that could lead to enhanced stability.
Relativistic Chemistry Exploration: Livermorium offers unique opportunities to study how relativistic effects influence chemical bonding in superheavy elements. Theoretical predictions suggest it might behave similarly to polonium but with significant deviations due to relativistic orbital contractions.
Advanced Nuclear Instrumentation: Creating livermorium drives development of sophisticated particle detection systems, ion beam technologies, and data analysis methods that benefit multiple scientific fields including medical physics and materials research.
International Scientific Collaboration: Livermorium research exemplifies global cooperation in fundamental science, with teams from Russia, the United States, and other nations sharing resources and expertise to push the boundaries of human knowledge.
Theoretical Model Validation: Livermorium provides experimental data to test quantum mechanical models of atomic structure, particularly theories about electron orbital behavior under extreme nuclear charges and relativistic conditions.
Future Technology Foundation: Understanding livermorium's properties contributes to the long-term scientific goal of discovering stable superheavy elements that might revolutionize technology in ways currently beyond imagination.
Particle Accelerator Synthesis: Livermorium exists only within specialized nuclear physics facilities equipped with powerful cyclotrons and linear accelerators. Creating livermorium requires weeks of continuous bombardment to produce individual atoms, making each synthesis scientifically significant.
Nuclear Decay Analysis: Scientists use livermorium to study alpha decay chains and spontaneous fission processes, providing insights into the fundamental forces governing atomic nuclei and nuclear stability mechanisms.
Computational Chemistry Testing: Livermorium serves as a benchmark for theoretical predictions about superheavy element chemistry, particularly models suggesting unusual chemical behavior due to relativistic electron effects.
Advanced Detection Development: Livermorium identification requires the most sophisticated particle detection systems available, driving innovation in nuclear instrumentation that benefits broader scientific research and technology development.
Scientific Training Platform: Livermorium experiments provide invaluable training opportunities for nuclear physicists and graduate students, advancing human expertise in superheavy element science and nuclear research techniques.
International Research Exchange: Livermorium studies facilitate collaboration between world-leading nuclear physics laboratories, fostering knowledge sharing and technological advancement across national boundaries.
Where it comes from
0 mg/kg of Earth's crust · more abundant than 0% of elements
No Natural Formation: Livermorium cannot form through any natural nuclear processes occurring anywhere in the universe. Its 116-proton nucleus is too heavy and unstable to exist in stellar cores, supernovae, or any other known astrophysical environments.
Laboratory Creation Only: Every livermorium atom has been artificially created through nuclear fusion reactions in particle accelerators. The process involves bombarding curium-248 targets with calcium-48 ions, achieving success rates of only a few atoms per day.
Cosmic Impossibility: Even the most extreme cosmic events like neutron star collisions lack the precise conditions necessary to create and preserve livermorium nuclei. The element's short half-life ensures rapid decay before any possible detection.
Specialized Facility Dependency: Livermorium exists only in advanced nuclear research installations like the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia and GSI Helmholtzzentrum in Germany, representing humanity's most sophisticated nuclear physics capabilities.
Nuclear Instability Origins: Livermorium's synthetic nature results from fundamental nuclear physics principles. As atomic number increases, electromagnetic repulsion between protons increasingly overwhelms the strong nuclear force, preventing natural nuclear stability.
Future Synthesis Developments: While improved accelerator technologies might enhance livermorium production efficiency, the element will remain synthetic due to its inherent nuclear instability and rapid radioactive decay characteristics.
Handling
Livermorium is radioactive. It has no stable isotope — every nucleus decays. Handling requires appropriate shielding and licensing.
High-Energy Alpha Decay: Livermorium undergoes alpha decay with half-lives ranging from milliseconds to seconds, emitting extremely energetic alpha particles capable of causing severe radiation damage to biological tissues within seconds of exposure.
Multi-Level Containment: All livermorium research occurs within heavily shielded accelerator facilities featuring multiple containment barriers, remote handling equipment, and continuous radiation monitoring systems to protect personnel from lethal radiation exposure.
Spontaneous Fission Hazards: Some livermorium isotopes may undergo spontaneous fission, releasing high-energy neutrons and fission fragments that create additional radiation risks requiring specialized shielding and detection systems.
Highly Trained Personnel Required: Livermorium research requires nuclear physicists with extensive radiation safety training and years of experience with extremely radioactive materials. Strict access controls ensure only qualified personnel enter research areas.
Remote Operation Essential: Livermorium's extreme radioactivity prevents any direct human handling. All synthesis, detection, and analysis occur through sophisticated remote-controlled systems designed to minimize radiation exposure while enabling scientific investigation.
Environmental Protection Protocols: Despite extremely small quantities produced, livermorium research facilities maintain rigorous environmental monitoring and radioactive waste management protocols to prevent any contamination from escaping containment systems.
Quick answers
Livermorium (symbol Lv) is element 116 on the periodic table, a post-transition metal in period 7, group 16. Made by fusing calcium-48 with curium-248, and decays within milliseconds. At room temperature it is a solid, and it is radioactive.
[Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p⁴, giving 7 occupied shells holding 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 6 electrons respectively. Its outer shell holds 6 electrons, which is what sets its bonding behaviour.Livermorium melts at 623 K (349.9 °C) and boils at 1035 K (761.9 °C).
Livermorium has no stable isotope, so it has no standard atomic weight. The figure quoted, 293, is the mass number of its longest-lived known isotope.
Livermorium has a density of 12.9 g/cm³. Water is 1.0 g/cm³, so a block of livermorium is about 12.9× heavier.
Livermorium was discovered in 2000 by JINR Dubna & Livermore. It is named after lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Livermorium does not occur naturally on Earth in any meaningful quantity — it is made in a reactor or an accelerator.
Yes. Livermorium has no stable isotope — every one of its nuclei decays. It does not occur in usable quantities in nature and must be synthesised.