How nihonium got its name?
Matthew Cannon
Updated on January 18, 2026
The name nihonium stems from the fact that element 113 was discovered in Japan, and Nihon is one way to say the country's name in Japanese.
What does the name nihonium mean?
Scientists with Japan's RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science proposed the element name nihonium, which is one way to say "Japan" in Japanese and means "the land of the rising sun," according to the IUPAC. Nihonium's atomic symbol is Nh.What country is nihonium named after?
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese scientists behind the discovery of element 113, the first atomic element found in Asia - indeed, the first found outside Europe or the United States - have dubbed it “nihonium” after the Japanese-language name for their country.What is the old name of nihonium?
Element 113, previously known by its placeholder name of ununtrium, is now nihonium (Nh). The element derives its name from “nihon,” one of two words used to say “Japan” in Japanese.When was nihonium discovered?
Nihonium was discovered on August 12, 2012 by Kosuke Morita's RIKEN collaborative team in Japan. It was the first chemical element ever discovered in Asia.Nihonium - Periodic Table of Videos
How expensive is nihonium?
Nihonium (Nh 113), the most expensive metal in the universe! One gram of Nihonium would cost 157x10^21 $ ... that's more than the value of all elements of the Earth.What is the origin name of Roentgenium?
Roentgenium is named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of x-rays. The image is based on an early x-ray tube.What was Flerovium named after?
Flerovium (atomic symbol Fl) was chosen to honor Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, where superheavy elements, including element 114, were synthesized. Georgiy N. Flerov (1913-1990) was a renowned physicist who discovered the spontaneous fission of uranium and was a pioneer in heavy-ion physics.Is nihonium man made?
Nihonium is a radioactive synthetic element with the symbol Nh and atomic number 113. Because of its position on the periodic table, the element is expected to be a solid metal at room temperature. The discovery of element 113 was made official in 2016.How do we use nihonium in everyday life?
Uses of NihoniumCurrently, there is no commercial use of nihonium other than research within the laboratory. Because it has such a short life and is radioactive, there is very little known about it. So far, research has shown that nihonium has an atomic number of 113 and an atomic mass of 286 AMU.