There are two possible ways to define the “heaviest” elements – based on their density or atomic mass
The heaviest element 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 most dense natural element on Earth is osmium
Another way to look at heaviness is in terms of atomic weight, the average mass of the atoms of an element
This is a fundamental concept in chemistry because most chemical reactions occur according to simple numerical relationships between atoms
Below, we list seven heaviest elements found on Earth according to their atomic masses
Note: We have not mentioned elements whose properties are unknown or not yet confirmed, such as moscovium, flerovium, nihonium and meitnerium
Rutherfordium (Rf) was the first superheavy element to be discovered [in 1964]
It is highly radioactive and its most stable isotope 267Rf has a half-life of about 78 minutes
Rutherfordium is an artificial element created in the laboratory by bombarding Californium-249 with a Carbon-12 nucleus
A total of 16 isotopes with atomic masses between 253 and 270 have been reported
The element is expected to be a solid under normal conditions and is presumed to have chemical properties similar to hafnium
It was only created in minute quantities and used only for scientific research
Dubnium (Db) is a radioactive element, first synthesized in 1968 at the Joint Nuclear Research Institute, Russia
It has seven recognized isotopes, of which the most stable is 268 Db with a half-life of 32 hours
Dubnium can be produced by bombarding californium-249 with nitrogen or americium-243 with neon
A limited examination of the chemistry of dubnium confirmed that the element behaves more like niobium rather than tantalum, breaking periodic trends
Since the element is not found free in nature or created in large quantities in the laboratory, it has no applications other than scientific research
The research team bombarded californium-249 with oxygen-18 nuclei to produce seaborgium-263
It is a radioactive element whose most stable isotope (269Sg) has a half-life of about 14 minutes
Only a few seaborgium atoms have been produced, and their use is solely for scientific research
The little research that has been carried out on this synthetic chemical element indicates that seaborgium is a heavy and dense metal under normal conditions
In 2014, Japanese researchers established for the first time a chemical bond between a carbon atom and seaborgium, opening new doors to analyze the effects of Einstein’s relativity on the structure of the periodic table
Bohrium (Bh) is an artificially produced radioactive element named after a famous physicist Niels Bohr
Because it decays very quickly through the emission of alpha particles (270 Bh has a half-life of 61 seconds), it is very difficult to study the element
Bohrium is not found in nature and only a few atoms have been produced to date
Discovered by German physicists in 1984, hasium (Hs) is one of the heaviest and densest elements on the periodic table
The nine isotopes of the element have very short half-lives: the most stable (270 Hs) has a half-life of 10 seconds
So far, only a few hasium atoms have been produced
Although the exact melting point, boiling point, and density are unconfirmed, the element is believed to be solid at room temperature
This radioactive transition metal can react with other elements [of its group] if produced in large quantities
As of now, it has no commercial use other than scientific research
Tennessine (Ts) is the second heaviest known element discovered by a Russian-American collaboration in 2010
It is a radioactive element, produced artificially
Tenesine was produced by a fusion reaction of calcium-48 with berkelium-249
The use of tennessine is restricted to research purposes due to its miniscule production
Its most stable isotope (294Ts) has a half-life of about 80 milliseconds, decaying by alpha decay
Read: The 15 densest materials on Earth | Volumetric mass density
First synthesized 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 approximately 089 milliseconds) and does not occur naturally, there is almost no reason to consider its health hazards
Heaviest natural element: Uranium
Uranium glass glowing under ultraviolet light | Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Atomic mass: 2380289
Although uranium is a radioactive element, its decay rate is much slower than other elements associated with radioactivity
Its most natural form (uranium-238) has an average life of about 45 billion years
Read: 15 Intriguing Facts About Uranium | A weakly radioactive metal
Uranium is mainly used as nuclear fuel to produce electricity in nuclear power plants