Ununquadium has only been synthesized a few times in its short history. So far, the element has been produced in such tiny quantities that it has not been possible to even measure what has been produced. Ununquadium was first discovered in 1998 and was quickly synthesized a few months after its discovery. It was synthesized again in 2004 and 2006. The synthesis process used isotopic formed of plutonium and calcium to create ununquadium. During the procedure, plutonium, isotope number 242 and 244, was used as a target which was bombarded with ion beams composed of the isotope, number 48, of calcium. The results of the process were two isotopic forms of ununquadium, numbers 287 and 289, and 6 neutrons. All of the isotopes of ununquadium that have been produced underwent spontaneous fission in less than .0012 milliseconds. The rapid decay, or spontaneous fission, of ununquadium has prevented further research into the chemical nature and traits of the element.
