promethium (Pm)

Term: promethium (Pm)

Literally meaning: “pertaining to Prometheus”

Origin:

Προμηθέας/Prometheas(=Prometheus, according Greek Mythology Prometheus was as Ttan who stole from Gods the fire and gave it to mortals. Zeus, the father of Gods, punished and bound him to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day but the liver grow back to be eaten again the next day).

Coined/History 

The existence of promethium was predicted by Czech chemist Bohuslav Brauner in 1902.  Promethium was isolated in 1945 by American chemists Jacob A Marinsky (1918-2005), Lawrence  Glendenin (1918-2008) and Charles D. Coryell (1912-1971), as a byproduct of the uranium fission while working on the Manhattan Project. The original proposed name was “clintonium”  because of the name of their laboratory. The name “prometheum” was suggested by Grace Mary Coryell, the wife of Charles D. Coryell because of the courage and pain needed to synthesize a new and rare elememnt which  symbolizes “both the daring and the possible misure of the mankind intellect”. In 1949 the International Union of Chemistry adopted the spelling “Promethium”.

Sourse:

Mary Elvira Weeks, Discovery of the Elements, comp. rev. by Heny M. Leicester (Easton, Pa.: Journal of Chemical Education, 1968), pp. 835-837.

Emsley, John (2011) Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z quide to the Elements . Oxford University Press. Pp 428-430. ISBN 978-0-19-9605663-7.

Definition

The element promethium is a rare-earth metal with atomic number 61 and atomic mass 145. It is used a nuclear powered battery in research projects.