Chairman: A. M. Sargeson (Australia); Vice-Chairman: J. A. McCleverty (UK); Secretary: W. H. Koppenol (Switzerland); Titular Members: A. J. Arduengo (USA); D. N. Coucovanis (USA); M. W. G. de Bolster (Netherlands); H. D. Kaesz (USA); A. Salzer (FRG); Associate Members: G. Bergerhoff (FRG); J. B. Casey (USA); G. Denti (Italy); J. de Oliveira Cabral (Portugal); A. Dress (FRG); P. Royo Gracia (Spain); National Representatives: M. A. Bennett (Australia); W. Tang (Chinese Chemical Society); J. Neels (FRG); R. S. Laitinen (Finland); Piroska Fodor-Csányi (Hungary); D. Meyerstein (Israel); A. Yamamoto (Japan); J. Reedijk (Netherlands); K. M. Mackay (New Zealand); C. S. Chin (Republic of Korea); M. M. Zulu (RSA); V. P. Kolotov (Russia); L. I. Elding (Sweden); E. W. Godly (UK).
The Transfermium Working Group (TWG) was set up in 1986 under the joint auspices of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). Its conclusions, duly endorsed by IUPAC and IUPAP, were published in the following three reports:
IUPAC went a stage further by inviting responses on reports 2 and 3 from the three major groups concerned, i.e., Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, California; Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna; and Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt. These responses together with the TWG's reply to the responses were published unedited in Pure & Appl. Chem., vol. 65, (1993), pp. 1815-1824.
The TWG recognized that the responsibility for naming the transfermium elements must rest with the IUPAC Commission on Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (II.2). The Commission met in Balatonfüred (Hungary) on 31st August 1994 to consider the naming of the transfermium elements 101-109 inclusive. The Commission consisted of twenty chemists, all with equal voting rights, from twelve different countries, namely Australia, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America. The debate was wide-ranging, thoughtful and objective, bearing in mind the significance of the process to chemistry in general.
Beforehand, the three major groups involved in the discoveries had been asked for their proposals concerning the naming of the elements and the reasons for their choices. All three groups had responded. The Commission carefully considered the proposals, and at the beginning it addressed the precedents for naming elements. It agreed unanimously to continue the practice of naming elements after appropriate scientists, places and properties. However, it resolved (16 to 4 votes [1]) that an element should not be named after a living person. The majority of the Commission felt it was necessary to have the perspective of history in relation to these discoveries before such a decision was made. The Commission also agreed to accept the conclusions of the TWG as one of the bases for selecting names. In addition, it was sensitive to the suggestions from the three groups about the choices for the names. In the final analysis all the names chosen came from their proposals, but not necessarily in the order suggested.
Ultimately, the Commission reached the recommended names below with a remarkable degree of censensus as the voting figures display.
Element Name Symbol Voting in favour 101 Mendelevium Md 20 102 Nobelium No 20 103 Lawrencium Lr 20 104 Dubnium Db 19 105 Joliotium J1 18 106 Rutherfordium Rf 18 107 Bohrium Bh 20 108 Hahnium Hn 19 109 Meitnerium Mt 20
The recommendations of the Commission as a whole were ratified unanimously by the Titular Members.
Regarding elements 101-103, the Commission accepted the "status quo" even though it recognized the conclusion of the TWG that an error had been made in the initial report on the discovery of element 102 (Nobelium).
Element 104 was named Dubnium to recognize the distinguished contributions to chemistry and modern nuclear physics of the international scientific centre at Dubna near Moscow.
Joliotium was chosen as the name for element 105 to recognize the French scientist F. Joliot-Curie who contributed greatly to the development of nuclear physics and chemistry, and who shared the Nobel prize in 1935 with Mme. I. Curie.
Elements 106 and 107 were named after Ernest Rutherford (New Zealand) and Niels Bohr (Denmark), respectively, to recognize their distinguished contributions to our knowledge of atomic structure. The Commission recommends the name Bohrium (Bh) for element 107, instead of the proposed Nielsbohrium, so that it conforms to the names of the other elements named after individuals.
Naming the adjoining elements 108 and 109 after Otto Hahn (Germany) and Lise Meitner (Austria) recognizes their decisive role in the discovery of nuclear fission.
The above recommendations were accepted unanimously by the IUPAC Bureau at its meeting in Antwerp (Belgium) on 17th-18th September 1994 for submission to the Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols as definitive for publication in Pure & Appl. Chem. They are subject to ratification by the IUPAC Council, when it meets at Guildford (UK) on 10th-11th August 1995.
Republication of this report is permitted without the need for formal IUPAC permission on condition that an acknowledgement with full reference together with IUPAC copyright symbol is printed. Publication of a translation into another Ianguage is subject to the additional condition of prior approval from the relevant IUPAC National Adhering Organisation.
1 All ballots were secret and scrutinized by two members from countries other than those of the institutions involved.
Mira también "Fronteras de la tabla periódica: el último elemento (nš 114)."