Group 9 element Group 9 element Group 9, numbered by IUPAC nomenclature, is a group of chemical element in the periodic table. Members are cobalt (Co), rhodium (Rh), iridium (Ir) and perhaps also the chemically uncharacterized meitnerium (Mt). These are all transition metals in the d-block. All known isotopes of meitnerium are radioactive with short half-lives, and it is not known to occur in nature; only minute quantities have been synthesized in laboratories. Like other groups, the members of this family show patterns in electron configuration, especially in the outermost shells, resulting in trends in chemical behavior; however, rhodium deviates from the pattern.
Chemical element plants, the calcium in mollusc shells, or the iron in the hemoglobin in vertebrate animals' red blood cells. The concept of an "element" as an undivisible substance has developed through three major historical phases: Classical definitions (such as those of the ancient Greeks), chemical definitions, and atomic definitions. Ancient philosophy posited a set of classical elements to explain observed patterns in nature. These "elements" originally referred to "earth", "water", "air" and "fire" rather than the chemical elements of modern science. The term 'elements' ("stoicheia") was first used by the Greek philosopher Plato in about 360 BCE in his dialogue Timaeus,