Fl · Element 114 · Carbon group
Predicted to sit in an "island of stability" where superheavy nuclei live far longer.
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 flerovium 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
Flerovium is liquid over a 220 K window, from 200 K to 420 K.
The story
Predicted to sit in an "island of stability" where superheavy nuclei live far longer.
Russian Scientific Leadership: Flerovium discovery represents a triumph of Russian nuclear physics, achieved by an international team led by Yuri Oganessian at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna. This accomplishment continued Russia's proud tradition of superheavy element discoveries.
Decade-Long Research Program: The flerovium discovery spanned a decade of systematic experiments from 1999 to 2009, requiring persistent refinement of synthesis techniques and detection methods. The team's dedication through numerous failed attempts exemplifies scientific perseverance.
International Collaboration: While led by JINR, the discovery involved scientists from multiple countries including Germany and the United States. This collaboration demonstrated how fundamental science transcends national boundaries in pursuit of human knowledge.
Technical Breakthroughs: Creating flerovium required developing new target preparation techniques, ion beam optimization, and sophisticated particle detection systems. These innovations 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. "Flerovium" honors Georgy Flerov, founder of superheavy element research at JINR.
Scientific Legacy: Flerovium's discovery validated theoretical predictions about superheavy element synthesis pathways and opened new research directions toward the island of stability. The achievement inspired continued exploration of the periodic table's limits.
Global Impact: The discovery strengthened international cooperation in nuclear physics and demonstrated how advanced scientific facilities can achieve seemingly impossible goals through sustained effort and technological innovation.
Applications
Island of Stability Exploration: Flerovium represents a critical milestone in superheavy element research, positioned near the predicted "island of stability" where elements might exist for significantly longer periods. Its study provides crucial data about nuclear shell effects and the limits of atomic nuclei stability.
Relativistic Chemistry Studies: As element 114, flerovium offers unique opportunities to study how relativistic effects influence chemical bonding in superheavy elements. Theoretical predictions suggest flerovium might behave as a noble gas despite being in group 14, making it a fascinating subject for computational chemistry validation.
Advanced Nuclear Physics: Flerovium synthesis requires fusion of calcium-48 with plutonium-244, pushing the boundaries of nuclear reaction understanding. These experiments advance knowledge of heavy-ion collision dynamics and nuclear fusion mechanisms at extreme energies.
Detection Technology Development: Creating flerovium drives innovation in particle detection systems, timing electronics, and data acquisition methods. These technological advances benefit broader scientific fields including medical physics, materials science, and space exploration.
International Collaboration Framework: Flerovium research exemplifies global scientific cooperation, with teams from Russia, Germany, and the United States sharing resources and expertise to achieve common goals in fundamental science.
Theoretical Model Testing: Flerovium 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 flerovium's properties contributes to the long-term scientific goal of discovering stable superheavy elements that might revolutionize technology in ways currently unimaginable.
Particle Accelerator Experiments: Flerovium exists only within specialized research facilities equipped with powerful cyclotrons and linear accelerators. Creating flerovium requires weeks of continuous bombardment to produce individual atoms, making each synthesis a remarkable scientific achievement.
Nuclear Decay Analysis: Scientists use flerovium to study alpha decay patterns and spontaneous fission processes, providing insights into nuclear stability mechanisms and the fundamental forces governing atomic nuclei behavior.
Computational Chemistry Validation: Flerovium serves as a testing ground for theoretical predictions about superheavy element chemistry, particularly models suggesting it might exhibit noble gas-like properties despite its position in group 14.
Advanced Instrumentation Testing: Flerovium detection requires the most sophisticated particle identification systems available, driving development of new technologies that benefit multiple scientific disciplines.
Educational Research Value: Flerovium experiments provide training opportunities for nuclear physicists and graduate students, advancing human expertise in superheavy element science and nuclear instrumentation.
International Scientific Exchange: Flerovium research facilitates 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: Flerovium cannot form through any known natural nuclear processes. Its 114-proton nucleus is too heavy and unstable to exist in stellar cores, supernovae, or neutron star environments, making it exclusively artificial.
Laboratory Creation Only: Every flerovium atom has been created through artificial nuclear fusion in particle accelerators. The process involves bombarding plutonium-244 targets with calcium-48 ions, achieving fusion rates of only a few atoms per day under optimal conditions.
Cosmic Impossibility: Even the most extreme cosmic events lack the precise conditions necessary to create and preserve flerovium nuclei. The element's short half-life means any hypothetically formed flerovium would decay before astronomical detection.
Accelerator Dependency: Flerovium exists only in highly specialized facilities like the GSI Helmholtzzentrum in Germany and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia. These installations represent humanity's advanced capabilities in nuclear physics research.
Nuclear Instability Origins: Flerovium'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 stability.
Future Synthesis Prospects: While improved accelerator technologies might enhance flerovium production efficiency, the element will remain synthetic due to its inherent nuclear instability and rapid radioactive decay.
Handling
Flerovium is radioactive. It has no stable isotope — every nucleus decays. Handling requires appropriate shielding and licensing.
Rapid Alpha Decay: Flerovium undergoes alpha decay with half-lives ranging from milliseconds to seconds, depending on the isotope. The emitted alpha particles carry extremely high energies capable of causing severe radiation damage to biological tissues within seconds of exposure.
Multi-Barrier Containment: All flerovium research occurs within heavily shielded accelerator facilities featuring multiple containment systems, remote handling equipment, and continuous radiation monitoring to protect personnel from lethal exposure.
Spontaneous Fission Risk: Some flerovium isotopes undergo spontaneous fission, releasing neutrons and fission fragments with enormous energies. This process creates additional radiation hazards requiring specialized shielding and detection systems.
Highly Trained Personnel Only: Flerovium research requires nuclear physicists with extensive radiation safety training and years of experience with radioactive materials. Strict access controls ensure only qualified personnel enter research areas.
Remote Operation Mandatory: Flerovium's extreme radioactivity prevents any direct human handling. All synthesis, detection, and analysis occur through remote-controlled systems designed to minimize radiation exposure while maximizing scientific data collection.
Environmental Protection: Despite extremely small quantities, flerovium research facilities maintain rigorous environmental monitoring and waste management protocols to prevent any radioactive contamination from escaping containment systems.
Quick answers
Flerovium (symbol Fl) is element 114 on the periodic table, a post-transition metal in period 7, group 14. Predicted to sit in an "island of stability" where superheavy nuclei live far longer. At room temperature it is a liquid, and it is radioactive.
[Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d¹⁰ 7s² 7p², giving 7 occupied shells holding 2, 8, 18, 32, 32, 18, 4 electrons respectively. Its outer shell holds 4 electrons, which is what sets its bonding behaviour.Flerovium melts at 200 K (-73.1 °C) and boils at 420 K (146.9 °C).
Flerovium has no stable isotope, so it has no standard atomic weight. The figure quoted, 289, is the mass number of its longest-lived known isotope.
Flerovium has a density of 14 g/cm³. Water is 1.0 g/cm³, so a block of flerovium is about 14× heavier.
Flerovium was discovered in 1999 by JINR Dubna & Livermore. It is named after the Flerov Laboratory.
Flerovium does not occur naturally on Earth in any meaningful quantity — it is made in a reactor or an accelerator.
Yes. Flerovium has no stable isotope — every one of its nuclei decays. It does not occur in usable quantities in nature and must be synthesised.