Promethium
The chemical element Promethium, atomic number 61, is named after an ancient mythological Titan named Prometheus. Prometheus was the Titan of foresight, and many ancient Greeks believed him to be either wholly or partially responsible for the creation of humankind. He is most famous for stealing fire from the Gods, who had taken it away from mortals, and giving it back to the human race. Zues/Jupiter, king of the Gods, was so enraged by this that he had Prometheus nailed to a mountain and had his liver, which could regrow due to his immortality, be repeatedly eaten out by an eagle. However, the element Promethium is entirely different. Promethium was discovered in 1945 by Jacob Marinsky, Lawrence Glendenin, and Charles Coryell. Information on the choice of name is scarce, but the element does have somewhat properties. It is the only "rare-earth metal" that is not naturally found on Earth at all. It is still considered one of them due to its place in the lanthanide group of elements. Promethium is very unstable and all of its known isotopes are constantly in the state of radioactive beta decay. This decay allows it to be used as a power source, due to the emission of electrons from the atom; however, such devices are uncommon. According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, "[m]ost promethium is used only in research" (5). Promethium's name seems unfitting for such a strange and seemingly not very useful element. Prometheus was considered at least partially responsible for the creation of the human race as a whole, so is strange that his name is used to name something so insignificant to human life. One possible reason it could have been named after him is the fact that it was theorized to exist over 40 years before it was discovered because of elements 60 and 62 already having been found. The element filling this gap of knowledge could be equated to Prometheus bringing fire to humanity. However, even this potential reason fails to emphasize the importance of Prometheus in ancient Greek mythology to the creation of humanity. For this reason I consider the name of promethium to be unfitting for the element.
Christopher Foster
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