A radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Pm and atomic number 61, artificially produced and having no stable isotopes.
Named after Prometheus, the Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. American scientists Charles Coryell, Jacob Marinsky, and Lawrence Glendenin discovered and named the element in 1945. The mythological name reflects the element's connection to atomic energy and humanity's mastery of nuclear fire.
Promethium is named after the mythological fire-bringer Prometheus, making it perfect that this element literally glows in the dark from its own radioactivity - it's like having stolen atomic fire! It's so rare that the entire Earth's crust contains less than a kilogram of natural promethium at any given time.
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