promethium
英 [prə'miːθɪəm]
美 [prə'miθɪəm]
promethium 钷来自Prometheus,普罗米修斯，-ium,元素后缀。以此命名，一方面说明该核元素如同人类新的火种（核能），另一方面也提醒人们使用这种元素可能命临的后果。
- promethium (n.)
- radioactive element, long one of the "missing elements," 1948, so called by discoverers Jacob Marinsky and Lawrence Glendenin, who detected it in 1945 in the fusion products of uranium while working on the Manhattan Project. From Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and was punished for it, + element name ending -ium. "The name not only symbolizes the dramatic way in which the element may be produced in quantity as a result of man's harnessing of the energy of nuclear fission, but also warns man of the impending danger of punishment by the vulture of war." [Marinsky and Glendenin]
