Sequanium was the proposed name for a new element that Romanian physicist Horia Hulubei reported he had discovered in 1939.[1][2] The name derived from the Latin word Sequana for the river Seine running through Paris where Hulubei worked at that time.
Hulubei thought he had discovered element 93 in a tantalite sample from the French region Haute-Vienne. Element 93 was synthesised in 1940 and named neptunium.[3] It does in fact occur in nature in trace amounts, but it is not commonly believed that Hulubei actually discovered it.
References[edit]
- ^ Fontani, Marco (6–10 September 2005). The Twilight of the Naturally-Occurring Elements: Moldavium (Ml), Sequanium (Sq) and Dor (Do). Fifth International Conference on the History of Chemistry. Lisbon. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2006-02-24.
- ^ Hulubei, H.; Cauchois, Y. (1939). "Nouvelles recherches sur l'élément 93 naturel". Comptes rendus. 209: 476–479.
- ^ Mcmillan, Edwin; Abelson, Philip (1940). "Radioactive Element 93". Physical Review. 57 (12): 1185. Bibcode:1940PhRv...57.1185M. doi:10.1103/PhysRev.57.1185.2.