Chemical element named mendelevium in honor of D.I. Mendeleev, the first to arrange the elements in a periodic manner. Most recently, the synthesis of element 118 (since named oganesson) was reported in October 2006, and the synthesis of element 117 (tennessine) was reported in April 2010. Ten materials familiar to various prehistoric cultures are now known to be chemical elements: Carbon, copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, silver, sulfur, tin, and zinc. Three additional materials now accepted as elements, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, were recognized as distinct substances prior to 1500 AD. Phosphorus, cobalt, and platinum were isolated before 1750. Most of the
Monoisotopic element Monoisotopic element A monoisotopic element is one of 26 chemical elements which have only a single stable isotope (nuclide). A list is given in a following section. Stability is experimentally defined for chemical elements, as there are a number of stable nuclides with atomic numbers over ~ 40 which are theoretically unstable, but apparently have half-lives so long that they have not been observed directly or indirectly (from measurement of products) to decay. Monoisotopic elements are characterized, except in a single case, by odd numbers of protons (odd "Z"), and even numbers of neutrons. Because of the energy gain from