Daily Curiosity

Chemical Elements · Question

What element has the symbol 'Ts'?

Answer

Tennessine

The story behind the answer

Ts is the symbol for Tennessine, element 117. It’s a superheavy, synthetic element in the halogen group, first produced in 2010 by a Russian–American team using berkelium from Oak Ridge (Tennessee). The other options have different symbols: Thulium (Tm), Technetium (Tc), and Titanium (Ti).

Why the name? Tennessine honors the state of Tennessee for its key nuclear research centers. It exists only for milliseconds before decaying, made by bombarding berkelium-249 with calcium-48. Memory tip: “Tennessee starts with ‘T’ and has an ‘s’ sound

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