More info:
Darmstadtium is named after the town of Darmstadt in Germany. Darmstradtium is highly radioactive, and it's longest lived isotope has a half-life of about 4 minutes. It was first made in 1994, at the Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, by colliding nickel and lead. Other elements were also discovered at this research centre, including bohrium, meitnerium, and copernicium. Darmstradtium is (so far) the only element discovered there that has not been named after a person. So few atoms of darmstradtium have ever been made, that nothing is known about its chemistry, we don't even know what it looks like!
More info about the International Year of the Periodic Table (IYPT) in crystals project:
This project (#IYPTCrystals) is part of the International Year of the Periodic Table celebration (#IYPT2019), read more about the project here. You can follow us on social media using #IYPTCrystals and learn more about the wonders of crystals by following the CCDC on Twitter @ccdc_cambridge on Facebook ccdc.cambridge, on Instagram ccdc_cambridge or on YouTube CCDCCambridge.
If you want to find out more about some of the terms and concepts we have a Frequently Asked Questions Page.