Chemical element · Atomic number 83
Bismuth
Bismuth in the periodic table: atomic number 83, electron configuration, atomic mass, physical data, oxidation states, media credit and visible sources.
Post-transition metal
solid
208.98040 u
Documented element sampleA synthetically grown bismuth crystal; the rainbow colours come from a very thin oxide layer.
Image credit: Alchemist-hp ( www.pse-mendelejew.de ) + Richard Bartz with focus stack.
Auto-oriented, limited to 1600 × 1200 pixels and re-encoded as WebP; the subject was not altered.
Atomic classification
Shell occupancy
Bismuth in the Bohr shell model
This shows the electron distribution of the neutral atom in a simplified shell model.
- K · n=1
- 2 electrons
- L · n=2
- 8 electrons
- M · n=3
- 18 electrons
- N · n=4
- 32 electrons
- O · n=5
- 18 electrons
- P · n=6
- 5 electrons
- Electron configuration
- [Xe]6s2 4f14 5d10 6p3
- Electrons per shell
- 2 · 8 · 18 · 32 · 18 · 5
- Group
- 15
- Period
- 6
- Block
- P
- Element category
- Post-transition metal
Physical and chemical properties
- Atomic mass
- 208.98040 u
- Standard state
- solid
- Density
- 9.807 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 544.55 K
- Boiling point
- 1,837 K
- Electronegativity
- 2.02 (Pauling)
- First ionisation energy
- 7.289 eV
- Oxidation states
- +5, +3
- Discovery
- 1753
Safety and periodic classification
Safety
Safe handling cannot be inferred from Bismuth's position in the periodic table alone. Laboratory, classroom and disposal decisions must follow the documentation for the exact material and its safety data sheet.
Position and comparison
Bismuth is in period 6, group 15 and the P block. Its direct neighbours by atomic number are Lead and Polonium. The recorded Pauling electronegativity is 2.02. Periodic trends are compared only through the separately sourced neighbouring values.
Sources and scope
PubChem attributes element data to sources including IUPAC, NIST and IAEA. Quanta stores the referenced snapshot locally and leaves unknown values unavailable.
Where Bismuth sits among the 118 elements
The table compares the reported values for Bismuth with every other element that carries the same value in the snapshot. A rank is not a judgement, it is orientation: it says how unusual this value is across the periodic table.
| Value | Bismuth | Position in the data set |
|---|---|---|
| Melting point | 544.55 K | Rank 76 of 103 elements with a reported value. Highest: Carbon. |
| Boiling point | 1,837 K | Rank 59 of 93 elements with a reported value. Highest: Rhenium. |
| Density | 9.807 g/cm³ | Rank 28 of 96 elements with a reported value. Highest: Osmium. |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 2.02 | Rank 29 of 95 elements with a reported value. Highest: Fluorine. |
| Ionisation energy | 7.289 eV | Rank 49 of 102 elements with a reported value. Highest: Helium. |
All values and ranks come from the PubChem Periodic Table snapshot, retrieved on 2026-07-15. Elements without a reported value are excluded, so the population differs per row.
The neighbours of Bismuth in the periodic table
- Place in the table
- Group 15, period 6, P block. Classified as post-transition metal, solid at standard conditions.
- Direct neighbours
- Atomic number 83. Preceded by Lead, followed by Polonium.
- Same group
- Same number of outer electrons, and therefore similar reactivity to Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Arsenic, Antimony, Moscovium.
- Discovery
- Recorded in the snapshot as: 1753. Who, where and under what circumstances is not part of that record, so this page carries the sourced year and no discovery narrative.
- Oxidation states
- +5, +3. They follow from the electron configuration [Xe]6s2 4f14 5d10 6p3 and indicate which compounds to expect.
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