Period 6 element between barium and hafnium, and radium and rutherfordium, respectively. This convention is entirely a matter of aesthetics and formatting practicality; a rarely used wide-formatted periodic table inserts the lanthanide and actinide series in their proper places, as parts of the table's sixth and seventh rows (periods). Lanthanum is a chemical element with the symbol La and atomic number 57. It is the first element in the lanthanide series. It is a soft, ductile, silvery-white metal that tarnishes rapidly when exposed to air and is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is the eponym of the lanthanide series,
Mercury (element) of 46.612 days. Most of the remaining radioisotopes have half-lives that are less than a day. and are the most often studied NMR-active nuclei, having spins of and respectively. Hg is the modern chemical symbol for mercury. It comes from "hydrargyrum", a Latinized form of the Greek word ὑδράργυρος ("hydrargyros"), which is a compound word meaning "water-silver" (from ὑδρ- "hydr-", the root of ὕδωρ, "water," and ἄργυρος "argyros" "silver") – since it is liquid like water and shiny like silver. The element was named after the Roman god Mercury, known for his speed and mobility. It is associated with the