Period 6 element the last stable element; all subsequent elements are radioactive. For bismuth, however, its only primordial isotope, Bi, has a half-life of more than 10 years, over a billion times longer than the current age of the universe. As a rule, period 6 elements fill their 6s shells first, then their 4f, 5d, and 6p shells, in that order; however, there are exceptions, such as gold. This period contains the lanthanides, also known as the "rare earths". Many lanthanides are known for their magnetic properties, such as neodymium. Many period 6 transition metals are very valuable, such as gold, however many
Heavy metals metals in form or appearance"). This suggestion was ignored; the new elements came to be recognised as metals, and the term metalloid was then used to refer to nonmetallic elements and, later, elements that were hard to describe as either metals or nonmetals. An early use of the term "heavy metal" dates from 1817, when the German chemist Leopold Gmelin divided the elements into nonmetals, light metals, and heavy metals. Light metals had densities of 0.860–5.0 g/cm; heavy metals 5.308–22.000. The term later became associated with elements of high atomic weight or high atomic number. It is sometimes used interchangeably