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Bunsenine is the provisional non-systematic name of a theoretical element with the symbol Bs and atomic number 171. Bunsenine was named in honor of Robert Bunsen (1811–1899), a pioneer in photochemistry who studied the emission spectra of heated substances. This hypothetical element with atomic number 171 is known in the scientific literature as unseptunium (Usu), dvi-astatine, or simply element 171. Bunsenine is the heaviest halogen and is the fifth member of the kirchhoffide series, thus placing this hypothetical element at the coordinate of 8p5 on the periodic table.
Atomic properties[]
A bunsenine atom is comprised of 669 subatomic particles, including 498 nucleons that make up the nucleus whose ratio is 1.91. This corresponds to the fact that there are nearly twice as many neutrons as protons. Heavier elements tend to have more neutrons relative to protons because of the increasing nuclear charge due to positively charged protons.
Surrounding the nucleus, there are 171 electrons in nine shells, but electrons are adding into the eighth shell. One of the orbitals in the eighth shell, 8p, needs one more electron to complete the orbital even though its first electron was added 50 elements ago at lavoisium. However, the 8p orbital was split into 8p1/2 and 8p3/2 parts, in which the former split orbital was completed 44 elements ago at planckium, while the first electron was added to the 8p3/2 split orbital just two elements ago at joulium.
All nuclides of bunsenine are fissile. 498
171Bs has a critical mass of just 1.71 kg, which would make it convenient for weapons use if the half-life of all known isotopes and metastable nuclear isomers were not too short to make this infeasible. Although impractical, a theoretical nuclear reactor fueled by bunsenine would be called a bunsenine burner.
Isotopes[]
Like every other element heavier than lead, bunsenine has no stable isotopes. The longest-lived isotope is 498Bs with an extremely brief half-life (t½) of 116⅔ nanoseconds. It undergoes spontaneous fission, splitting into three lighter nuclei plus neutrons like the following example.
Bunsenine has many meta states that are considerably longer lived than any ground state isotope. One example is 501m1Bs, which is the longest-lived meta state (t½ = 467 milliseconds). The isomer lasts 4000 times longer than the longest-lived ground state isotope 498Bs.
Chemical properties and compounds[]
Since bunsenine is a halogen, its chemical properties is assumed to be similar to its other group members. However, relativistic effects would make bunsenine quite unreactive. Like other halogens, it exhibits odd-number oxidation states from −1 to +7. +3 (trivalent) is the most common state found in compounds as well as the most common state found in aqueous solutions. Bunsenine has an electronegativity of 2.41, placing it near the middle of the interval between astatine (2.20) and iodine (2.66) in values. The first ionization energy value is also placed in the interval between these two elements, though a lot closer to iodine. As a result, bunsenine is more reactive than astatine and tennessine but less reactive than iodine and other lighter halogens.
Bs2O3 is a dark reddish brown crystal, while BsN is a pinkish purple powder. Bs2S3 is a light orange crystal, while BsP is a yellow powder. Bunsenine can bond with other halogens to form bunsenine halides, such as BsF3, BsCl3, BsBr3, and BsI3. But when bonded with astatine and tennessine, it forms halogen bunsenides: AtBs and TsBs, respectively, since bunsenine is more electronegative than astatine and tennessine. Bunsenine can also bond to hydrogen to form hydrogen bunsenide (HBs) which forms hydrobunsenic acid when dissolved in water.
Bunsenine can form organic compounds, called organobunsenine compounds, whose properties are similar to organic compounds of other lighter halogens. For example, bunsenine can form alcohols like dibutylbunsenine ether (BsC6H18O), as well as sugars like bunsenine carbohydrates.
Physical properties[]
At ordinary conditions, bunsenine is a dark gray metallic halogen. It is a good conductor of heat but its behavior in electrical conduction is like a semiconductor. Bunsenine is the densest halogen at 16 g/cm3, twice as dense as copper. The molar volume is 31.3 cm3/mol, similar to astatine, a halogen two elements above bunsenine. In ordinary conditions, bunsenine atoms arrange to form base-centered orthorhombic crystals with an average atomic separation of 373 pm. It is diamagnetic, meaning that it can create its own magnetic field in the presence of externally applied magnetic fields.
Like other halogens, its liquid range is narrow, between 583 °F and 901 °F, a bit wider than the liquid range of water but with the liquid ratio slightly less than that of water. With an increase in temperature, it first becomes a liquid and then a gas. It requires 19 kJ of energy to turn bunsenine from solid to liquid and it requires 60½ kJ of energy to turn bunsenine from liquid to gas. It takes 68 mJ of energy to heat one gram of bunsenine by 1 °F.
Occurrence[]
It is almost certain that bunsenine doesn't exist on Earth at all, but it is believed to barely exist somewhere in the universe due to its brief lifetime. Every element heavier than iron can only naturally be produced by exploding stars. But it is likely impossible for even the most powerful supernovae or most violent neutron star collisions to produce this hypothetical element through r-process because there's not enough energy available or not enough neutrons, respectively, to produce this superheavy element. Instead, only advanced technological civilizations can produce this hypothetical element, virtually accounting for all of its abundance in the universe. On the 172-element periodic table, bunsenine is the rarest element in the universe at an estimated abundance of 1.42 × 10−36 by mass, which amounts to 4.76 × 1016 kilograms.
Synthesis[]
To synthesize most stable isotopes of bunsenine, nuclei of a couple lighter elements must be fused together, and the right amount of neutrons must be seeded. This operation would be impossible using current technology since it requires a tremendous amount of energy, thus its cross section would be so low that it is beyond the technological limit. Even if synthesis succeeds, this resulting element would almost immediately undergo fission. Here's a couple of example equations in the synthesis of the most stable isotope, 498Bs.
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