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News Science

Four Elements Added To Periodic Table (theguardian.com) 85

Posted by Soulskill from the honda-element-rejected-for-13th-straight-year dept.
physburn writes: The Guardian reports that four new elements, with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118, have been formally added to the periodic table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has now initiated the process of formalizing names and symbols for these elements. "The RIKEN collaboration team in Japan have fulfilled the criteria for element Z=113 and will be invited to propose a permanent name and symbol." 115 and 117, with the temporary names of ununpentium and ununseptium, will be named by researchers from Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore national labs in the U.S., as well as from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia. 118, known for now as ununoctium, will be named by the same group minus the Oak Ridge researchers. Professor Paul Karol said, "A particular difficulty in establishing these new elements is that they decay into hitherto unknown isotopes of slightly lighter elements that also need to be unequivocally identified, but in the future we hope to improve methods that can directly measure the atomic number, Z."
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Four Elements Added To Periodic Table More

Four Elements Added To Periodic Table

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  • Let Bob Lazar name 115 (Score:5, Funny)

    by RubberDogBone ( 851604 ) on Monday January 04, 2016 @09:06AM (#51234267)

    Let Bob Lazar name 115, since he claimed that was the element which powered the alien flying saucers he worked on at S-3.

    Lazarium. Toaster Struedelium. I dunno.

  • So let's jack the price up say $250-$300 the unlimited student loan will cover it.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday January 04, 2016 @09:22AM (#51234333)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Their half-lives are probably measured in millionths, or less, but regardless, they are not isotopes [wikipedia.org]: variants of a particular chemical element which differ in neutron number, although all isotopes of a given element have the same number of protons in each atom

      • The (few) identified atoms of each new element had all specific and measured neutron counts. And they still possess half-lifes in the seconds range.

        • Despite my quoting the wiki definition, I don't think you know what an isotope is.

          As to half-lives, they are all over the map -- 118 is about 0.89 of a millisecond, 117 is measured in days, 115's is 220 ms, 113's is 20 seconds. Generalizing that they are all in one range is never done by anyone but a chemistry novice.
          • I think you may have misread the OP. It didnt say that they decay into Isotopes of themselves, just that they decayed into previously unknown isotopes of other "slightly lighter elements" which need to be measured and quantified separately.
            • Thanks for trying to adjudicate but:

              These damn kids with their designer isotopes that clock less than a second of half-life.

              'designer isotopes' implies multiple variations of one element, and that is absolutely not what is going on here. Scientists have, apparently, created four new elements, without any mention or hint of them creating two or more isotopes of any of these elements. Just one type of each of four elements.

    • Mark my words, this never would have happened if Reagan were still president, and the science department hadn't quit making me handle mercury in my cupped hands for demonstrations.

      Fear not good citizen! This crazy talk of extra elements is just more of the liberal claptrap spread by these same scientists who have tried to foist the thoroughly debunked earthal heating lie upon the world.

      Stay the course. If Jeebuz wanted us to have more elements than the ones gawd already gave us, it would be in the ultimate science book. Its not, so take that atheists!

      • Meanwhile, liberals won't recognize any element north of bismuth. They're all eeee-vil!

        • Meanwhile, liberals won't recognize any element north of bismuth. They're all eeee-vil!

          If you looked at who made the first atomic weapons, they were damned liberal.

          Meantime, I deny the existance of radioactivity. Little particles flying off of solid rocks and metals. That's crazy talk.

          • Today's liberals, of course. Their leftist parents embraced the idea of human progress, including science and its applications, as did Marx himself. The Manhattan Project, Mt Palomar, Hoover Dam and their last program, Apollo, were part of this ideal.

            • Their leftist parents embraced the idea of human progress, including

              Eugenics, and Internment Camps.

              • See what I mean? This is exactly how today's left views science.

              • Re: (Score:1)

                by KGIII ( 973947 )

                I am in passive consumption mode so I scrolled past that and then scrolled back up. I'm not going to charge you for the keyboard this time but, for FSM's sake, could you at least give a guy some warning first?

    • There is a possibility these super heavy atoms could be stabilized if they could react and form a molecule. They could even have very useful properties. Even if they don't exist for long right now they are distinct elements from anything else on the periodic table.

      Chemical reactions take place on the order of a few femtoseconds so there is FAR more than enough time for these things to react and make a stable molecule. Look at uranium. On its own it decays as a radioactive compound but if turned into uranini

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Punko ( 784684 )
        Just, no.
      • Drivel.

        Chemical reactions take place on the order of a few femtoseconds so there is FAR more than enough time for these things to react and make a stable molecule. Look at uranium. On its own it decays as a radioactive compound but if turned into uraninite it is stable and far less dangerous.

        (1) Chemical reactions take varying amounts of time. Saying they all happen in femtos is ridiculous, but convenient to your thesis above.

        (2) Let's look at uranium. On its own it does nothing. Ohhhh, you were refe

      • Reacting uranium with anything does not (measurably) change its decay rate. Uraninite is NO exception.

    • Mark my words, this never would have happened if Reagan were still president, ...

      Don't worry, President Trump will build a fence to keep these elements (and the poor metals) out of the U.S.A. on his first day in office. And he'll have the Actinides pay for it!

  • 4 periodic table elements named... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Leg1, Leg2, Leg3, and Leg4.

    Finally the periodic table gets off the ground.

  • Monster discovery (Score:5, Funny)

    by RDW ( 41497 ) on Monday January 04, 2016 @09:48AM (#51234429)

    The RIKEN collaboration team in Japan have fulfilled the criteria for element Z=113 and will be invited to propose a permanent name and symbol

    A radioactive super-heavy element from Japan?: Godzillium.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by haruchai ( 17472 )

      I was going with harakirium but I like your suggestion more.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )
      I think the one that involved the Oak Ridge laboratory should honor another great contribution to humanity that came out of Oak Ridge.

      Therefore, I propose they name it orbium. For the Oak Ridge Boys

      • Lawrence Livermore Labs already has Lawrencium, and 4 syllable names are so tedious. Let's call 117 Larry. Or Liver.

    • it's right in so many ways. It captures the fear and dangers of nuclear work along with the awesome power. perfect.

      however I can't help but think this is just plot by the periodic table printing industry to force us all to upgrade the wall chart. What next? do I have to buy the white album again too?

    • The RIKEN collaboration team in Japan have fulfilled the criteria for element Z=113 and will be invited to propose a permanent name and symbol

      A radioactive super-heavy element from Japan?: Godzillium.

      Now we'll actually enjoy watching those elementary school radiation movies!

    • The RIKEN collaboration team in Japan have fulfilled the criteria for element Z=113 and will be invited to propose a permanent name and symbol

      A radioactive super-heavy element from Japan?: Godzillium.

      Techinally, it should be Gojirium.

  • That is all.

  • Which one?

  • Expensive with short half lives?
    iPodium113, iPodium115, iPodium117, iPodium118.

  • As of yet, there are no elements named after Japan, or any part of it, and there are many, many elements named after places, so this would be fitting.

    More importantly, it would start generations of stoners on the habit of telling each other "let's go do some element 113", thinking they're being clever when in fact they're being about as transparent as if they'd shouted "420".

  • Ok (Score:2)

    by drolli ( 522659 )

    Now we need to add The Fitfth Element to the periodic table.

  • Hmm (Score:2)

    by DanJ_UK ( 980165 ) *
    Been telling people this for years.

  • Kc for Kimocium (kimochi....kimochi.. :-p but seriously, Rk for Rikenium or Jp for Japanium (Np for Nipponium is already taken by Neptunium :-)

  • Since these decay so fast, perhaps one of them should be called Unobtainium.

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