It is always exciting when a new element is created, but it can remain unnamed for many years. In 1996 element 112 was first produced at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany during fusion experiments conducted by Professor Sigurd Hofmann and his team. It wasn’t until July 2009 that it was named copernicium, with the symbol Cp, in honour of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543). Before this the element had languished at the bottom of the d-block elements in the periodic table with the less inspiring title ununbium (derived from the Latin for ‘one one two’), bearing the temporary symbol Uub.
Hofmann chose to honour Copernicus because he ‘changed our world view’. Copernicus deduced that the planets revolve around the sun, refuting the belief that the Earth is the centre of the universe. He also proposed that the Earth turns on its own axis, giving rise to the apparent motion of the sun and stars across the sky. He worked on his theory for 30 years and it was published in 1543, the year he died. His work is cited as the start of the ‘Scientific Revolution’, which reached its climax with the work of Newton about 150 years later.
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