Toca Lab

Thanks for following us, it's been a pleasure and hope you learned something fun about at the elements! Want to know more about what we do? Keep on following us over at tocaboca.com/blog.

Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus

This is roentgenium and was named after the physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen who discovered X-rays in 1895. Röntgen actually means X-rays in Swedish! This element, on the other hand, is very radioactive and has only been produced i tiny amounts for research purpose only. It's very unstable and can't be trusted. Just look at that face... Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roentgenium

Introducing rutherfordium, named after the father of nuclear physics - Lord Ernest Rutherford.  This element is synthetic and a very radioactive metal, created by nuclear bombardment. Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutherfordium

This is meitnerium and it's a synthetic, radioactive metal which has only been produced in tiny amounts. It was produced in Germany and named after the physicist and mathematician, Lise Meitner. Probably the only woman saluted with a name in the Periodic Table? Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meitnerium

Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununtrium

This is ununseptium and it was produced in Russia as late as 2009. As the discovery of this element has not yet been verified by IUPAC, its place in the Periodic Table is still unofficial.  How did they find it then? By bombarding berkelium with over 7 trillion calcium-48 ions per second for 70 days, all accelerated to 10% of the speed of light! Wow, quite an experiment! Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununseptium

This is mendelevium and it was produced in a lab in Berkley, California. It was named after the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev who invented the first periodic table in modern form. Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendelevium

Cesium (or caesium) is the most electropositive of all natural elements which means it's the most reactive of all metals. It's so reactive that it will burst into flames in air and explode when in contact with water, i.e even humans! When discovering cesium the mission was to find the magic ingredient that made mineral baths in Germany so healthful. The element was then discovered by analyzing light and observing a bright blue line in the spectrum, hence the name cesium.  Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium

Have you ever heard of TNT? We're sure you have. Here's what's actually explosive - nitrogen! All living things contain nitrogen as it's required to build amino acids, which can be found in our DNA. Don't worry, we won't explode as it's not the same kind of compounds. Phew!  Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen

This is lawrencium and its very radioactive. Actually, all the elements in the periodic table that have an atomic number greater than 92 (the number of uranium) are very radioactive and lawrencium is no exception. Its uses are very limited as the element can't be found in nature at all. Its mainly used for research. Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrencium

Introducing berkelium, named after Berkley in California. It was discovered by 4 chemists in 1949. Want to know how you pronounce this radioactive element? Here you go: BURK-lee-em. Wasn't too hard, was't it?  Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkelium

This is protactinium and it's very toxic and radioactive. The largest amount of protactinium obtained up until today is 125 grams, all coming from 60 tons of nuclear waste material. Imagine having to go through that, pretty sweaty we imagine. Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protactinium

Want to know more about Krypton? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krypton

Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenon

This is californium and as the name suggests, it was first produced in California, Berkley. Californium is a very strong source of neutrons, and one microgram releases 170 million neutrons per minute! This makes it useful in the start up of nuclear reactors. It's also very radioactive. Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Californium

Want to know more? Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flerovium