There are two ways to define “heaviest” elements – based on mass or atomic mass.
The heaviest substance in terms of density can be defined as mass per unit volume, which is usually measured in grams per cubic centimeter or kilograms per cubic meter.
The strongest naturally occurring element on earth is Osmium.
Another way to look at weight is atomic weight, the number of atoms of an element.
This is an important concept in chemistry because most things happen in terms of simple numerical relationships between atoms.
Below, we have listed the seven heaviest elements found on Earth in order of atomic weight.
Note: We have not listed elements whose properties are unknown or unproven, such as moscovium, flerovium, nihonium, and meitnerium.
Rutherfordium (Rf) was the first very heavy element discovered [in 1964].
It is highly radioactive, and its stable isotope 267Rf has a half-life of 78 minutes.
Rutherfordium is a synthetic material created in a laboratory by bombarding Californium-249 with a Carbon-12 nucleus.
16 isotopes have been reported with atomic masses between 253 and 270.
The element is expected to be solid under normal conditions and is expected to have a chemical composition similar to hafnium.
It has been developed in small quantities and is used only for scientific research.
Dubnium (Db) is a radioactive element, which was first produced in 1968 at the Joint Nuclear Research Institute, Russia.
It has seven known isotopes, the most stable of which is 268Db with a half-life of 32 hours.
Dubnium can be produced by bombarding either californium-249 with nitrogen or americium-243 with neon.
A little analysis of Dubnium’s chemistry has confirmed that the element is more like niobium than tantalum, breaking periodic patterns.
Since the substance is not found freely in nature or produced in large quantities in a laboratory, it has no use other than scientific research.
The research team bombarded californium-249 with oxygen-18 nuclei to produce seaborgium-263.
It is a radioactive element whose stable isotope (269Sg) has a half-life of 14 minutes.
Only a small number of seaborgium atoms have ever been produced, and they are used only for scientific research.
The little research that has been done on this synthetic drug shows that seaborgium is a dense, heavy metal all the time.
In 2014, Japanese researchers established a chemical bond between a carbon atom and seaborgium for the first time, opening new doors to explore the effects of Einstein’s relationship on the structure of the periodic table.
Bohrium (Bh) is an artificial radioactive element named after the famous scientist Niels Bohr.
Since it decays rapidly due to the emission of alpha-particles (270Bh has a half-life of 61 seconds), it is very difficult to study the element.
Bohrium does not occur in nature, and only a few atoms have been synthesized so far.
Discovered by German scientists in 1984, Hassium (Hs) is one of the heaviest and heaviest elements on the periodic table.
All nine isotopes of the element have very short half-lives: the most stable (270Hs) has a half-life of 10 seconds.
So far, only a few hassium atoms have been created.
Although the melting point, boiling point, and density are not determined, the substance is believed to be stable at high temperatures.
This radioactive, volatile metal can react with other elements [of its group] if it is produced in large quantities.
As of now, it has no commercial use other than scientific research.
Tennessine (Ts) is the second richest mineral discovered by the Russian-American partnership in 2010.
They are radioactive, artificially generated.
Tennessine was created by combining calcium-48 with berkelium-249.
The use of tennessine is limited to research because of its limited production.
Its stable isotope (294Ts) has a half-life of about 80 milliseconds, which decays through alpha decay.
Read: 15 Fattest Things In The World | Volumetric Mass Density
First discovered in 2002, Oganesson (Og) is the heaviest element on the periodic table.
This highly radioactive element is a member of the noble gas group.
As of 2005, only six Oganesson atoms have been identified.
Since Oganesson is very unstable (with a half-life of about 0.89 milliseconds) and does not occur naturally, there is no reason to think about its health risks.
Heaviest Naturally Occurring Element: Uranium
Uranium glass glows under ultraviolet light | Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Atomic weight: 238.0289
Although uranium is a radioactive substance, its risk is much lower than other substances associated with radioactivity.
Its naturally occurring form (uranium-238) has a half-life of 4.5 billion years.
Read: 15 Facts About Uranium | Weak Radioactive Metals
Uranium is mainly used as nuclear fuel to generate electricity in power plants.