The heaviest recognized chemical element with the atomic number 112 was discovered at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and – since February 19, 2010 – officially carries the name copernicium and the chemical symbol “Cn”. The name was finally approved and officially announced by the international union for chemistry IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry). The name “Copernicium” honors scientist and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543).

IUPAC accepted the name proposed by the international discovering team around Sigurd Hofmann at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum. The team had suggested “Cp” as the chemical symbol for the new element. However, since the chemical symbol “Cp” gave cause for concerns, as ... Read more

March 17, 2010 | 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. | GSI lecture hall Axel Gruppe (GSI): "Physics with excitement and fun - 5 years GSI students lab". Please note that the lecture is in German.

Get the new Program for the popular German lecture series "Wissenschaft für Alle"!

In the third edition of "target" (German magazine) we report amongst others about the new element 112, Copernicium. Subscription & Download

GSI at a Glance

---

Scientific Research aims at the understanding of our world in its structure and its behavior. This knowledge serves as a basis for technical progress in all aspects of living and has led to many new developments. More...

FAIR - Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research

---

GSI plans the new accelerator facility FAIR for the research with ion and antiproton beams, in cooperation with their users and the international community. More...


Cancer Therapy with Ion Beams

---

GSI is the birthplace of a new form of cancer treatment. This development was the result of many years of research in conjunction with GSI’s large ion-beam accelerator system. More...


Generation of New Elements

---

Chemical elements are produced in stars and in stellar explosions. Ultimately, these elements are the building blocks of all materials—including every atom of our bodies. However, the universe is also home to a large number of other atoms that do not occur on the earth. One of the key tasks of the researchers at GSI is to attempt to create previously unknown elements in the laboratory. More...