Editing Administratium

{{Short description|Scientific in-joke}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
{{refimprove|date = January 2018}}
'''Administratium''' is a well-known [[in-joke]] in [[science|scientific]] circles and is a [[parody]] both on the [[bureaucracy]] of [[academia|scientific establishments]] and on descriptions of newly discovered [[chemical element]]s. 

In 1991, Thomas Kyle (the supposed discoverer of this element) was awarded an [[Ig Nobel Prize]] for [[physics]], making him one of only three fictional people to have won the award.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V111/N40/ignobe.40n.html |title=Ig Nobel Prizes Debut |newspaper=The Tech |first=Alice |last=Gilchrist |issue=40 |volume=111 |date=October 4, 1991 |access-date=2007-02-01 |archive-date=December 30, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230073735/http://tech.mit.edu/V111/N40/ignobe.40n.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A spoof article was written by [[William DeBuvitz]] in 1988 and first appeared in print in the January 1989 issue of ''The Physics Teacher''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lhup.edu/~DSIMANEK/administ.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315075433/http://www.lhup.edu/~DSIMANEK/administ.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-03-15 |title=Administratium. New chemical Element Discovered |first=William |last=DeBuvitz |publisher= The Physics Teacher |date=January 1989}}</ref> It spread rapidly among university campuses and research centers; many versions surfaced, often customized to the contributor's situation.

A similar joke concerns '''Administrontium''' which was referenced in print in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ebeltz.net/resume/jir.html |title=Physics Non-Department First to Photograph New Element. |first=Ellin |last=Beltz |publisher=NEIU Independent |date=June 21, 1993 |access-date=2007-02-01}}</ref>

Another variation on the same joke is '''Bureaucratium'''. A commonly heard description describes it as "having a negative [[half-life]]". In other words, the more time passes, the more massive "Bureaucratium" becomes; it only grows larger and more sluggish. This refers to the bureaucratic system, which is generally perceived as a system in which bureaucratic procedures accumulate, and whatever needs to get done takes increasingly longer to get done as soon as it touches the bureaucracy.

==See also==
*[[Unobtainium]]
*[[Unobtainium#Similar_terms|Wishalloy]]
*[[List of fictional elements, materials, isotopes and subatomic particles]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1989 introductions]]
[[Category:Fictional materials]]
[[Category:Academic administration]]
[[Category:In-jokes]]
[[Category:Parodies]]
[[Category:Satirical works]]
[[Category:Political satire]]
[[Category:Science and culture]]
[[Category:Science writing]]

[[fr:Administratium]]