The Mysterious Superheavy Metal

Basic Information

• Element Name: Dubnium
• Symbol: Db
• Discovered By: Joint work by scientists in Russia and the USA
• Category: Transition Metal
• Group: 5 (in the periodic table)
• State: Synthetic (man-made), not naturally found
• Discovered In: 1967

Chemical Properties

• Atomic Number: 105
• Atomic Mass: About 268 (most stable isotope)
• Valence Electrons: Usually 5 (like other group 5 elements)
• Electronic Configuration: [Rn] 5f¹⁴ 6d³ 7s²

What You Should Know About Dubnium

• Dubnium is a synthetic element, created in labs by smashing lighter atoms together.
• It belongs to the transition metals family and shares similarities with tantalum and niobium.
• It’s highly radioactive and exists only for a very short time before decaying into other elements.
• The name “Dubnium” comes from the Russian town of Dubna, where it was first made.

Interesting Facts about Dubnium

• Because it’s so unstable, no everyday uses exist yet.
• It helps scientists study the behavior of very heavy elements.
• Dubnium’s discovery was part of the Cold War-era race to find new elements.
• It’s part of the “superheavy elements”, located at the bottom of the periodic table.

Uses

• Used only in scientific research to understand nuclear reactions and atomic structure.
• Helps researchers learn about the limits of chemistry and physics in extreme conditions.

✨ Summary:
Dubnium is a rare, lab-made element named after the place where it was discovered. Although it’s not found naturally and only lasts a short time, it plays an important role in scientific research to understand the heaviest parts of the periodic table!