Element 110 Now Darmstadtium

photoblur writes "It's time to update your periodic table of the elements! Element 110 has been officially named 'darmstadtium' (Ds), after the GSI lab in Darmstadt, Germany. The GSI lab has also been officially recognized for discovering element 111."

Comments

Name of Element 111

[yanestra]

I propose Rodgauium for the name of element 111. This town (Rodgau) is even moring boring than Darmstadt. (No wonder one famous band calls itself the Rodgau Monotones...)

Re:Name of Element 111

[FileNotFound]

I think "Nobodycaresanymoreium" would be a great name for element 111.

I mean seriously, how many samples of 111 exist in non lab enviroments? For how long?

I am confused by the purpose behind this research...seems like one of those "because we can" things.

Re:Name of Element 111

[big_O_of_n!]

I was sort of hoping they'd never get around to giving 111 an official name. Unununium (Uuu) is just too good to get rid of.

Re:Name of Element 111

[Hieronymus Howard]

But will SCO will claim that element 111 infringes on their IP and insist that it's called darlscotium?

And will RMS insist that this new element is GNU/darmstadtium?

HH (in a weird mood, waiting for g/f to arrive)
--

Re:Name of Element 111

[big_O_of_n!]

Of course, when they get to element 118 (in significant quantities), "because we can" would be a perfectly good reason for creating a metalloid noble gas.

Re:Name of Element 111

[Anonymous Coward]

Too late. I predicted element 111 many years ago and took out a patent on all elements with an atomic weight of 111, 112, 113, 114....

I decided to name them Stupiditum, Greedium, Absurdium .. etc in honour of the legal system that allowed me to do this. Now you suckers can pay me a licencing fee for all uses or derived compounds.

Re:Name of Element 111

[Anonymous Coward]

Rogdau, indeed!

what about Babenhausen, you insensitive clod?

Re:Name of Element 111

[Cheeko]

According to the periodic table that is linked in the summary, it seems as if 118 HAS been discovered (created?). Whether the sample lasted long enough to test any of the properties is another story. What I'd be interested to see, is whether there is any work on creating stable large elements. I'll admit my chemistry knowledge is probably 7 years our of date at best, but wasn't there talk at one time, of elements over 118 possibly being stable (last longer than a few microseconds)? I'd be interested to know what kind of analysis they are trying to do on these atoms once they create them.

Re:Name of Element 111

[rdslater596]

How bout
"Nobodybutfiziksgeekscareanymoreium"

Seriously though, it is important in our understanding of both heavy nuclei physics and stellar astrophysics. That knowledge will not have an immediate benifit that most people can see. Eventaully that understanding will lead to some helpful devices and ideas that most people will go "ah-hah!" about. But inbetween breakthroughs we are inching along to set ourselves up for the next a-hah! moment.

As an example Americium (element 95--artifcially produced) is used often in smoke detectors. Back in the 30s and 40s the same argument could have been made, whats the point of all these artificial elelments?--but eventually "something" came out of it.

But more intangible furthering of knowledge is the real goal. Eventually there is some hope (and theory) that stable elements will be produced in the 115-120 atomic number range. Its hard to say exactly what hard "benefit" will come--maybe nothing, maybe something exceiting. They call it "re"-search for a reason! For now we will have to be content that we know more than we did before.

So you could say we are doing just because its there--but we are learning from it as well.

Re:Name of Element 111

[sharkey]

I think "Nobodycaresanymoreium" would be a great name for element 111...seems like one of those "because we can" things

How about "Nameinthesnowium"? Same category.

Re:Name of Element 111

[Anonymous Coward]

I want naquedah.

Re:Name of Element 111

[ponxx]

> how many samples of 111 exist in non lab enviroments?

none, the same number that exist in lab environments... do you have any idea what sort of half-life these elements have?

It's fundamental research. Seeing what is possible and learning about the basic laws of the universe... There might be some application in the distant future, but i doubt it would be very directly related to this reasearch...

Re:Name of Element 111

[Anonymous Coward]

No element 118, sorry.

http://enews.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/118- retraction.html

Re:Name of Element 111

[wideBlueSkies]

How about Pentium?

Prototype Element with No real use.

Oh wait........

Re:Name of Element 111

[Anonymous Coward]

how about Spinaltapium?

Re:Name of Element 111

[yanestra]

Convinced. Babenhausium. Cool cool name. Sounds like: Mud in the forest, and there: big big mud party. Only weasels admitted. May please someone explain to the foreign readers that Babenhausen and Rodgau are very near locations of Darmstadt, which some people like to call Dharmstadt (what reminds of the wheel of Dharma, the wheel of law)?

Re:Name of Element 111

[Guppy06]

I'm personally waiting for "unobtanium" and "cantaffordium"

Re:Name of Element 111

[Rich0]

Eventually there is some hope (and theory) that stable elements will be produced in the 115-120 atomic number range. Its hard to say exactly what hard "benefit" will come

Hey - most stable elements have a use of some sort. And if you find some superheavy element with a 100 year half-life, I'm sure there will be a use for it - it could be manufactured on a macroscopic scale for sure. If nothing else it lets you study the physics of large concentrated masses in small spaces (relativity has a big effect on such huge atoms).

Re:Name of Element 111

[Rich0]

I mean seriously, how many samples of 111 exist in non lab enviroments? For how long?

First answer - 0. Second answer - VERY little time. Maybe a hundred milliseconds or so.

But, half-lives are trending upward as we approach the predicted island of stability.

See this very informative link from Chemical and Engineering News's 50th aniversary edition. (It of course annouced the naming of 110 a few weeks ago - it isn't breaking news.) In it they have a table which shows some of the heavier isotopes of the heavy elements with half-lives in the seconds. This is big deal! It is predicted that if they can make even heavier isotopes of these elements they will be more stable - the contour plot on the same site suggests stabilities of hundreds of years, perhaps. That is an element you can bottle up and sell, and I don't know of any moderately-stable elements that have no use at all.

The trick is getting the extra neutrons into these atoms. The building blocks we normally use (other atoms) don't have that much in the way of excess neutrons.

BTW - the reference to C&EN is to one of the most-heavily-read trade magazines there is - it is the official "newsletter" of the American Chemical Society which is the largest professional organization in the world the last time I checked... Not all articles are free - but this is part of a big issue on the elements, and you will find links to full-page writeups on every element in existance (well, some elements are combined onto a single page - like the noble gases, Lanthinides, etc.)

Re:Name of Element 111

[Bas_Wijnen]

it seems as if 118 HAS been discovered

Yes, it had been discovered. It took months of measurements, and in the end they claimed to have three magnetic tapes, each of which held exactly one such discovery.

However, when others asked to see the data, they appeared to have been erased, because the tapes were accidentily left on an accellerator magnet.

I don't think anybody believed this story, and now scientists commonly agree on it that it was not discovered.

Re:Name of Element 111

[Bas_Wijnen]

I am confused by the purpose behind this research...seems like one of those "because we can" things.

The first wheel was probably used for pottery. The person using it must have been an uber-geek. Making pots isn't much more efficient with a wheel, they only look a bit nicer (to us, I'm not even sure if the people back then thought so.

If someone would have asked the purpose of his or her invention, the answer certainly wouldn't be that in the future people could make clocks with it.

Some research is done with a particular goal in mind. Some is done just "because we want to know" (which is something else than "because we can"). Most of it, if not all, is eventually used for things the inventor didn't dream of.

Re:Name of Element 111

[stfvon007]

Id rather have Amdium

Re:Name of Element 111

[wideBlueSkies]

That's good.

If this was 1995 we would also have cyrixium. :)

wbs.

Wondeful...

[Cyno01]

I think i'll go play a game of half life to celebrate.:p

Re:Wondeful...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think i'll go play a game of half life to celebrate

Me too, as soon as it's done compiling ;)

Darn scientists

[prostoalex]

This guy got screwed over, yet again.

Re:Darn scientists

[kurosawdust]

This guy's been there too.

population: tire

[cloudship_tacitus]

i will not rest until the naming of strongbadium, an element in the burninating gasses.

Element of uncertainty.

[Anonymous Coward]

The next members of the chain - dubnium-206 (105 protons) and lawrencium-256 (103 protons) - were known but the group was unable to unambiguously measure their decay.

Dubiousnium-206 ?

Re:Element of uncertainty.

[Sique]

Dubnium called after the russian city of Dubna, where the largest nuclear research center of the former Soviet Union and now Russia lies.

Wolverene's skeleton is made of

[Anonymous Coward]

AdamAntium

I'm just waiting...

[ENOENT]

for scientists to discover adamantium, omnium, and unobtainium.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Brandybuck]

I'm still waiting for Administratium. No electrons or protons, but many vice-neutrons, director neutrons and assistant neutrons. It is the only know element whose atomic weight increases after fission.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[ShavenYak]

You forgot upsidaisium!!

Hey, that gives me an idea for a /. poll:

Favorite fictional element?

1. Adamantium
2. Omnium
3. Unobtanium
4. Upsidaisium
5. (help me out... what was the stuff called in 'Raise the Titanic' by Clive Cussler?)
6. The Fifth Element
7. Cowboynealium

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Kadagan AU]

How about Mithril? Or is that a mix of other metals?

Re:I'm just waiting...

[crotherm]

Don't forget about upsidaisium...

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Anonymous Coward]

5. (help me out... what was the stuff called in 'Raise the Titanic' by Clive Cussler?)

[sad geek mode]
Byzanium!
[/sad geek mode]

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Dorothy 86]

*whew* thank God my chemistry days are done:)

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Spunk]

In my high school chemistry class, my teacher would often describe principles that could apply to any element. Typically, he'd choose his favorite element Arbitrarium.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[deglr6328]

well...Adamantane already exists, so why not?!

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Anonymous Coward]

Illudium. So that I can make my Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[mysticgoat]

You forgot Administratium.

IIRC, although this has yet to be observed directly, its affinity for bureaucracies has been amply demonstrated many times, since its presence causes vast amounts of inertia that otherwise cannot be explained.

If you put two or three bureaucrats together, then nothing gets done, no matter how much energy you flow into the system. All because of the trace amounts of administratium that are naturally occuring in each bureaucrat.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm deeply embarassed that I know the reference.

Marvin the Martian, Loony Toons.

*watches sense of being a normal human being evaporate...*

Re:I'm just waiting...

[drosselmeyer]

But which of those and in what proportions make the gundanium alloy? :)

Re:I'm just waiting...

[tonythejuice]

i think adamantium is a fancy name for diamond... we've pretty much got that one nailed.

Re:I'm just waiting...

[Pathetic Coward]

6. The Fifth Element

Off-by-1 error?

Re:I'm just waiting...

[ENOENT]

Close. "Adamant" is diamond. "Adamantium" is a metallic alloy whose primary user is Canada's "Weapon X" project.

I read a biography of this guy named Logan who had all kinds of things to say about it...

Re:I'm just waiting...

[rhkramer]

Don't forget flubber (or is that a compound?)

Element: Slashdotium found

[phunhippy]

The IETF has just announced discovery of the 31337th element named Slashdotium. This new element has perplexed engineers for many years now as it seems to simply appear out of nowhere and bring poor websites to their very knee's then dissapearing just as fast. Even stranger is the occasional apparent repeats that happen once in a while. Engineers theorize that the Slashdotium element hits some web sites twice at a rate of about 1 in 9. They are still trying to find out what is causing the repeated appearence of Slashdotium to the same site twice and one radical engineer believes its related to the element dumbasseditorium.

The 5th Element

[phaetonic]

milla jovovich would have been great to discover

Re:The 5th Element

[VanillaCoke420]

And then, of course, to launch an exploration mission.

The GSI response to the announcement....

[overbyj]

that element 110 is now Darmstadtium.

"Damn straightium it's Darmstadtium!"

Re:The GSI response to the announcement....

[Anonymous Coward]

More like Darmhardtomakium. Element 110.. geesh.

Re:The GSI response to the announcement....

[JamesP]

I'm waiting for the Mcbrideum, the Billgateum and the Hilaryroseum

damnit!

[Anonymous Coward]

Damnthat Darmstadt!

Name for elem. 111

[nacturation]

I think an apt name for the 111th element is Binarium.

Re:Name for elem. 111

[big_O_of_n!]

They already named element 111. It's called Nitrogen.

Re:Name for elem. 111

[Anonymous Coward]

>They already named element 111. It's called Nitrogen.

Funny guy, eh?

Re:Name for elem. 111

[the_consumer]

but 111 already has a name... Nitrogen.

Re:Name for elem. 111

[CGP314]

What about 1, 11, 100, and 101?

Re:Name for elem. 111

[CGP314]

What about 1, 10, 11, 100, 101 and 110?

Re:Name for elem. 111

[Anonymous Coward]

mod -1 stupid

doh

[Anonymous Coward]

Just as I was conducting my Chemistry homework: filling out the periodic table :-]

Is it really an element?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think substances that exist for a trillionth of a second should be classified as elements.

Re:Is it really an element?

[Narchie Troll]

I really think you should look up the definition of 'element.'

Translation

[Cyrus2001]

If you tranlate it literally: Gutcityium

My Idea for a name.

[jameskojiro]

Un-obtain-ium: Name for element 110 on the periodic table. decays so rapidly you never see it.

Re:My Idea for a name.

[AKAImBatman]

> Un-obtain-ium: Name for element 110 on the periodic
> table. decays so rapidly you never see it.

Ugh. Don't remind me of "The Core". The joke was funny when the guy first said it, but it got old REAL fast. Besides, would someone like to explain to me how this magical Unobtainium withstands the pressures inherent in the Earth's core, but happily goes to pieces when a nuke blows up inside? The concept of a containment field would have worked WAY better than their In-consistant-ium, IMNHO.

Re:My Idea for a name.

[angst7]

Been done - reference:

Unobtainium.
The official suppliers website

and according to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, both Bowman and Doggit have some of it, and the U.S. is none too pleased.

Update

[Anonymous Coward]

It's time to update your periodic table of the elements!

Phew! I can't even imagine the chaos that would erupt around here if I didn't get right on that!

Calm yourself, boy.

The Whigs

[Anonymous Coward]

The Whigs were a political party.

FYI: Darmstadt translates to Intestine-City

[Anonymous Coward]

Darm is German for Intestine
Stadt = City

I propose 111 be known as Firstpostium!

[mattbot 5000]

Hunan!

Are they really elements?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think a substance that is stable for only a trillionth of a second should be classified as an element. Most of these 100+ table 'elements' are like that.

Re:Are they really elements?

[Anonymous Coward]

During that trillionth of a second before it disintegrates, the darmstadtium atom is just as real as your average carbon or iron atom.

Re:Are they really elements?

[donutz]

I don't think a substance that is stable for only a trillionth of a second should be classified as an element. Most of these 100+ table 'elements' are like that.

Not quite the case...From this Nature article:

"A 'superheavy' atom of element number 114, created in a research reactor in Russia, has a 'half-life' of 30 seconds ... This sounds short, but most such artificially created superheavy atoms decay into lighter elements in a matter of milliseconds. By the standards of the field, element 114 lasts for a long time."

Re:Are they really elements?

[Eric Ass Raymond]

Hey!

Wasn't the element 115 supposed to be the "alien material" used in the anti-gravity drives of the UFOs? What happened to that?

Re:Are they really elements?

[Anonymous Coward]

Look at it this way, a trillionth of a second is like eternity compared to Planck time.

no no no

[ed.han]

my vote would have been for SCOsuxium: much better ring to it, after all.

but imagine if those physics guys were slashdotters: we'd have

goatsexium
hotgritsium
firstpostium
beowulfiu m

and of course:

cowboynealium

ed

Re:no no no

[alatesystems]

natalieportmantium

Chris Benard

re: no no no

[ed.han]

of course, just after i hit [submit] i realized i missed one: darlscrotium.

what scares me is the possibility that someone is likely running off to netsol or some other registrar to lock up those domains.

ed

Re:no no no

[mick29]

sovietrussium

Re:no no no

[Anonymous Coward]

In soviet Russia, we name children after elements (radioactive and heavy metalls, preferably)

Re:no no no

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe you forgot tubgirlium!

Re:no no no

[mongoks]

inthesovietunium?

Microsoft buys elements

[Anonymous Coward]

Today Microsoft Corp (Nasd: MSFT) has announced a buyout of all the elements. Microsoft has already began a nationwide licensing campaign for certain elements, mainly semiconductors. Any "semiconductor device" must pay a flat fee of $299 to MS. The device is then assigned an ID, which also gives a complementary license to Windows. A representitive said that "more complex devices will require more licensing fees." The move is not expected to change PC prices at the store, however some devices which do not yet embed Microsoft technology may have to pay other licensing fees on top of the MS fee, and even pay penelties for not using MS software. Today, Apple, motorola, and others announced the plans to change the MS software completely by next year. The periodic table will recieve periodic Service Packs, to set licensing restrictions/pricing as well as update names. Other industries are expected to have to pay for their elements too - and also get all their software licesnsing free. Microsoft has not yet said if they will require licensing for carbon, oxygen, and other elements critical for human life. If such a fee is imposed, it will most likely be an income tax of around 20%. This is in addition to other taxes.

Webelements

[Arc04]

www.webelements.com had it in there for ages (dated 17th March 03), proving they rock.

So.....for all your printable periodic table needs, go to Web Elements!!

Re:Webelements

[gedanken]

The of course then go on to point to here for the description of element 110. So Sorry.

Just Wondering

[Enonu]

Is there some real physical limit for the amount of protons, neutrons, and electrons an atom can have? For example, is it possible to have an atom with 160 protons given the right conditions?

Re:Just Wondering

[Anonymous Coward]

No.

The universe is the best ever particle accelerator. Since we don't see atoms with 160 protons we can safely assume that such things cannot exist.

Re:Just Wondering

[overbyj]

You do reach a point where the nuclear binding force requirement is too much to hold all the protons and neutrons together in the nucleus. The nuclear binding force is necessary to overcome the repulsions of the individual protons in the nucleus. In essence, the neutrons act as mini-buffers between all the positively charged protons but after a certain number, the repulsive forces become greater than the nuclear binding energy. This energy requirement is why as you move from "lighter" radioactive elements such as uranium to darmstadtium, the half-lives decrease exponentially. Uranium isotopes have half-lives measured in billions of years while I suspect the half-life of element 110 is measured in milliseconds to microseconds. The nuclear binding energy requirement is too great to make a long-living stable nucleus.

Re:Just Wondering

[stripe]

I was reading about an experiment where they figured that at some point where the number of protons in a nucleus would cause electrons spirialing in to lose 2x their mass in energy. You get something out of nothing at that point and our current understanding of physics kind of breaks down. I do not remember the proton count for this to happen tho.

Re:Just Wondering

[Anonymous Coward]

The general trend is that nuclei get less stable with increasing numbers of protons and neutrons. There are certain configurations with so-called "magic numbers" of nucleons which are particularly stable. The next "island of stability" is expected to be around element 114, which may have a half-life on the order of minutes or even hours.

Re:Just Wondering

[Anonymous Coward]

electrons don't spiral. they jump. In any case...do you have a link yet?

Re:Just Wondering

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a limit, but I'm not sure what it is - it depends on the interaction of strong interactive forcefields (which are very strong but limited in their effective distance) to hold together the nucleus.

If I'm not mistaken, quantum mechanics predict one or more stable and very massive elements in the mid 100's, so there's still a chance that new and useful elements will be discovered as we continue to climb the Periodic Ladder.

Paul

Re:Just Wondering

[stripe]

http://www.npl.washington.edu/AV/altvw17.html http://www.star.bnl.gov/STAR/smd/students/thesis/m orozov.pdf

Metalloid noble gas? WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

And?

Please enlighten us. What's a "metalloid noble gas"? Does it come out of your ass?

Re:Metalloid noble gas? WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it come out of your ass?

No, those would be the Shit-weasles. (go read/see Dreamcatcher)

Re:Metalloid noble gas? WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

Main Entry: 1metalloid
Pronunciation: 'me-t&l-"oid
Function: noun
Date: 1832
1 : a nonmetal that can combine with a metal to form an alloy
2 : an element intermediate in properties between the typical metals and nonmetals

Main Entry: noble gas
Function: noun
Date: 1902
: any of a group of rare gases that include helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and sometimes radon and that exhibit great stability and extremely low reaction rates -- called also inert gas

Element 118's position on the periodic table places it both in the noble gas column and on the metalloid line.

Re:Metalloid noble gas? WTF?

[Eric Ass Raymond]

Which is, of course, nonsense.

How can you have a reactive species that would combine with a metal and that would be at the same time a noble gas.

Re:Metalloid noble gas? WTF?

[addaon]

Noble gasses can be quite reactive, under the right conditions. It's just that they're (for the most part) much less reactive than other elements, in the same situation. Xenon hexaflouride and xenon tetraflouride, for instance, are quite easily made and quite stable; this doesn't prevent xenon from being a noble gas, but rather suggests that the term 'noble gas' should not be used a synonym for the (now obsolete) 'inert gas.'

Repost

[azav]

Yet another news article that has already been posted on /.

August 15th to be precise.

Posted by simoniker on Friday August 15, @03:38AM
from the soda-company-to-sponsor-pepsium dept.
An anonymous reader writes "According to Nature Magazine, chemists will vote in Ottawa, Canada this week, and are expected to approve the chemical element 110's informal moniker, 'darmstadtium', and give it the chemical symbol Ds. The title honors the Laboratory for Heavy Ion Research (called GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, where the substance was first made. It seems that 'disputes over claimed sightings of new elements have [previously] led to acrimonious and nationalistic battles over naming', but not in this case."

what's next in line for 111?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's Europium, Germanium, Hassium and now Darmstadium. Makes you wonder what other names they'll come up with for new elements they find. Maybe name them after their suburb? or street? Or the janitors cat?

Re:what's next in line for 111?

[jolyonr]

That's nothing, there are 4 elements named after one town in Sweden (Ytterby)

Yttrium
Ytterbium
Terbium
Erbium

Jolyon

Re:what's next in line for 111?

[Anonymous Coward]

Millajovovichium should be the next one! Or, at least change the name of the 5th element to that...

What benefit does this give?

[Sean80]

If there's one thing I don't understand - and it's because of my almost complete ignorance of all things chemistry beyond first year college - is why chemists are doing this sort of thing.

Do new elements like this one have uses in industry, or is it pure research insomuch as the ability for certain elements to exist in nature? Is there a primer for people like me? Is there any theory about which elements -can- exist?

Re:What benefit does this give?

[zymurgy_cat]

If there's one thing I don't understand - and it's because of my almost complete ignorance of all things chemistry beyond first year college - is why chemists are doing this sort of thing.

it's all about impressing the ladies. when the chump down the bar says he discovered element 109, you up him and say, "oh yeah, i made #112." you'd be surprised how often this gets you laid, especially with repressed grad students.

Re:What benefit does this give?

[geoffspear]

Yes, it's a shameful waste of research dollars for a chemist to be doing research that doesn't have an immediate beneficial effect on some corporation's profits. Shame on them!

Believe it on not, there are plenty of scientists who do completely theoretical work for their entire lives without knowing if one day something they discover will have a practical application. Without them, there would be no science or technology at all.

Re:What benefit does this give?

[Anonymous Coward]

Curiousity should be enough to do stuff like this.

111

[Anonymous Coward]

I propose we name this element slashdotium.

I got nothing.

The definitive periodic table ...

[Rupert]

... is this one by Michael Swanwick.

And yes, he has Darmstadtium.

Re:The definitive periodic table ...

[Richard W.M. Jones]

Nah ...

The definitive periodic table.

DS?

[LittleGuy]

And here I thought "Ds" would be Darkshadowsium -- the key element to repel TV Vampires.

re: DS?

[ed.han]

would there be an isotope DS9?

ed

What the hell? Real periodic table here

[qmrq]

This page requires flash shockwave viewer? Oh please. You can find a much better periodic table, which also doesn't need shockwave, here.

Curse you Darmstadtium!

[Kenja]

Now the periodic table I have tattooed on my arm is WORTHLESS!

Re:Curse you Darmstadtium!

[Soko]

Well, that's what you get for not taking into account the element of suprise.

Soko

Re:Curse you Darmstadtium!

[Call Me Black Cloud]

Ah...if I only had mod points. Thanks for the only post to make me laugh out loud tonight... +2 clever for you.

Periodic Table of Science Fiction

[Zathrus]

At least this post reminded me of the , which I hadn't read in a few weeks. Each element gets its own short story, which vary in quality wildly and relation to the subject matter. I'd say the first third of the table or so is worthwhile -- Mr. Swanwick struggled toward the end of the table though.

About the only one I'd recommend staying away from is arsenic... I've managed to block most of the memories of that story now.... ick.

Element 111

[dolo666]

They should call this one "The Fifth Element".

Re:Element 111

[4of12]

I count 4+2+1=7

If they call it "Seven", then we can really say it's "Heavy as Sin".

DamnStadium ? You mean the Vet ?

[Dave21212]

I could have sworn that read DamnStadium.

Which made me think immediately of the Vet (Veterans Stadium - Philly, PA, USA)

NEW SLASHDOT POLL!!

[Anonymous Coward]

NEW SLASHDOT POLL!!
What should we name element 111?

1. Linuxigen
2. GNUium
3. D
4. XFree87
5. SCO-suxium
6. I-don't-give-a-phuxium
7. ComboyNealium

Oh, please...

[Thud457]

"The universe is the best ever particle accelerator. Since we don't see atoms with 160 protons we can safely assume that such things cannot exist."

That grandiose generalization based upon examination of, what, 0.0000000000000000000000001% of the available samples?!!!

Now, if you cited something with some theoretical underpinnings as your justification, instead of such paltry empirical data, I might possibly consider maybe that I might believe you.

Did anyone else read this as...

[sphealey]

Did anyone else read this as Durmstrangium? I guess I have been listening to too much Harry Potter on tape...

sPh

Re:Is it revolution time already?

[Anonymous Coward]

What we really need to do is take some Alabama rednecks, give 'em all the beer they wanna drink, line them up off the Miami shores and watch them pick off all the 'spics they want.

Discovery of 111

[Uncle Joe Steel]

I'm impressed. GSI has already discovered element 111. I've been trying to discover element 79 in my basement with no luck.

Re:Is it revolution time already?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey fuckmunch,
This is about as relevant as this.

Have you ever thought about castration? You might think about it. I know that most people would be put at ease if you were no longer able to breed.

Other name

[zapp]

I was thinking maybe eleventyoneium

Re:Other name

[mysticgoat]

eleventyoneium

bilbonium.

By a stunning coincidence...

[Atario]

...the ABC TV network is looking for a sports venue that wants corporate-naming sponsorship, so they can promote one of their sitcoms: "Dharma Stadium".

Thank you. Try the veal.

#111

[HarveyBirdman]

Element 111 has to be named Wolfensteinium.

It just has to be.

No, really, it does.

Re:#111

[Lars T.]

Wrong castle. The casle near Darmstadt is Burg Frankenstein. No, really, it is.

Re:#111

[Snowdrake]

This is even better if you ask me. What self-respecting Gothic literature fan/geek-of-all-trades wouldn't love an element called Frankensteinium?

Re:#111

[Lars T.]

Well, the GSI is also credited with finding Elements 111 and 112, so who knows ;-)

gperiodic

[turgid]

Someone better get a-codin' an' a-patchin'

gperiodic is a very cool little program.

Nicht schlecht fur die Heiner!

[Loge]

Wer sagt dass der alte Ludwig nicht im voraus wusste wofur seine Landesmanner fahig seien wurden?

What idiot modded that down? It IS funny

[Anonymous Coward]

The previous poster was right, it should have been modded up, not down.

The town-name "Darmstadt" (Intestine-City) is indeed often ridiculed here in Germany by comedians or latenight-shows on TV in references to anal sex.

Which makes it FUNNY to any German that there is now an element with that name! No need to mod that down....geeesh.

Shouldn't that be Arheiligium?

[hrath]

If I'm not mistaken the GSI is in a suburb of Darmstadt called Arheilgen.

cheers,

Heiko

Re:Shouldn't that be Arheiligium?

[FrankNFurter]

No, the GSI resides in Darmstadt-Wixhausen. Naming an element after Wixhausen would be a very bad idea for obvious (well, obvious to German readers anyway) reasons.

Re:Shouldn't that be Arheiligium?

[Anonymous Coward]

Darmstadt is already boring a place as it is, Arheilgen or wherever the tram number 8 goes to from Luisenplatz is even more of a bore. It's a hole. Half of it is still under construction.

In fact all the cars from this whole region wear the DA two letter code. To be honest with you, I have never seen a town as boring as Darmstadt and I'm glad to leave it next month. So being reminded of it when I see element 111 on periodic tables is some form of punishement.

Why do you also live in the place?

Re:Shouldn't that be Arheiligium?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wiesbaden is a very nice city and is very close by. I know a guy that commutes from Wiesbaden to GSI. It takes less than 30 minutes.

Re:Shouldn't that be Arheiligium?

[hrath]

You're right, now I remember they were located between Arheilgen & Wixhausen. Yes Wix... would certainly have bad connotations for native German speakers ;-)

Heiko

DARLstadtium?

[Whispers_in_the_dark]

Hmmm... so what sort of frothy, evil, radioactive monster might be spawned after exposure to *that*?

Oh wait... never mind...

misread?

[the uNF cola]

Am I the only one who saw "darnstadium"?

You'd think they'd choose something that'd not look like another word, much less a phrase. :)

What I want to know is...

[jhouserizer]

What I want to know is: If they're man made, then how the HELL can they be elements?

--The Dead Milkmen.

Mithril?

[MenTaLguY]

It's basically some exotic form of silver, perhaps an alloy.

Re:Mithril?

[Anonymous Coward]

I was under the impression that Mithril was an ancient name for Platinum, which is already on the periodic table.

Re:Mithril?

[Carnivorous Carrot]

How about Uru, the material Thor's hammer is made from?

And there's Cap's shield. No one knows what that is made of. It's those mysterious meteorites, you know...

Re:Mithril?

[Anonymous Coward]

Cap's shield is an alloy of Vibranium and Adamantium.

But Is It Useful?

[alchemist68]

Who cares if they discovered it or just got around to naming it...What's it good for? What reactions can I do with it? Can it be used for catalysis? medicinal purposes?

Element 115, Ununpentium, is very useful. Look for yourself:

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/pages/element115.htm l

"island of stability"

[MenTaLguY]

Well, as I recall the predicted "island of stability" up around element 118 turned out not to be all it was hoped to be. The elements around there seem to last a little longer, but not _that_ much longer.

Re:"island of stability"

[Rich0]

Actually, I believe the island is predicted to be elements around 118 or so, but with more neutrons. Right now they can't get the number of neutrons high enough. The problem is that most elements have a near 1:1 proton-neutron ratio. If you ram two of them together to make a heavier element you still end up with a 1:1 ratio. They're trying to come up with ways of getting more neutrons into the mix.

And the halflives of the heavier elements have been trending upwards as predicted - some have half-lives in the seconds I believe - which is pretty good considering that they're only on the edge of the island of stability. Keep in mind that the slightly lighter elements (like around 106 and up) have VERY short half-lives (microseconds often).

There is a lot of evidence things could get better. But the only way to know for sure is to try making the stuff...

Yeah, it's a dupe.

[rednaxel]

The first article has funnier comments, too. You may say that the first one was posted before the actual voting for the naming, but damn, it took place almost two months ago!

Slightly OT...

[Chagatai]

Can someone place some sort of explanation here about why the electrons in an atom do not spiral into the nucleus? Classical grade school education states that protons are positively charged and electrons are negatively charged, so what prevents some level of attraction between the two? This would especially be relevant to elements like Ds where the nucleus is so huge. I know that the mass of electrons are also many times smaller than that of protons or neutrons and that they whizz about the nucleus, but no one has bothered explaining what keeps then apart in any of my old science classes. I turn to the particle physicists, chemists, and other -ists in the world for help.

Re:Slightly OT...

[cybercrap]

Well first off, the electrons aren't sitting there spanking it. They are rotating around the nucleus, or atleast so we think. Therefore there is an outward force from that. Other than that I have no idea. But I have take enough quantum physics and other bullshit advanced science classes in college to realize that nobody knows wtf is going on. There is no explanation for most things. It just all works. Also our model for the atom could be completely wrong, along with everything else we "know" today. The reason for us using it is because it works. And of course when it breaks down and stops working they change the laws to make it work. Right now a bunch of people are looking for something that links the subatomic and quantum world to our own. If you interested, you should read shit about string theory. Of course it is pretty much religion at this point since there is no proof of it, but all science starts that way, so who knows.

Re:Slightly OT...

[naarok]

My glib answer was because they are orbiting, but then why doesn't the orbit decay?

So I did some Googleing. Here they say "The real reason electrons don't fall into the nucleus is that they are not electrically-charged bodies orbiting the nucleus but are electric charges that come from the nucleus, negative electric charges that have a small mass but are not actually matter. They spread out in various directions from the nucleus, forming the regular patterns that underly the crystal structure of all large-scale matter."

I don't know if I buy that, but maybe.

Doing more googleing, I see references to charge clouds and standing waves and ..., so my best guess is that we're all still guessing.

Cool question though! There goes my afternoon.

Re:Slightly OT...

[naarok]

Just to whore some more Karma (and to show how little work I'm doing), here is another interesting quote

Many of us may have learnt about Bohr's atom model, with electrons orbiting around a central nucleus. Actually, this model has already been abandoned by conventional physics, which is a step in the right direction. In the current understanding of the atom, an orbital is not something like the orbit of a planet around the sun. It is a probability distribution in space. And, the electron cannot be said to be really "moving around", an orbital is a stucture of energy that has a shape.

There is a very good example for this. The ground state of a hydrogen atom is actually spherically symmetrical, and therefore it has zero total angular momentum. Which, if we try to interpret in classical terms, means that the electron only ever moves radially, in and out towards the nucleus but yet it covers the whole angular range. So in fact it defies "steel ball" or "classical" (incl. Bohr's) interpretations. So how could an electron ever produce an orbital path without orbiting around? The only way to visualise how this could be possible is to imagine a spherical balloon being periodically inflated and deflated. All these statements will sound strange to us until we get free from our 'hard particle' paradigm.

Found here.

Re:Slightly OT...

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess you don't remember (or was not taught) how the Orbits are calculated: the electron states 2s, 2s 2p, 3s 3p etc. Those are states where electrons having their own kinetic energy, electrostatic potential energy, etc balanced out exactly at. If you give more energy to an electron than it jumps to another state (excitation), etc. Because the new energy will balance out at another state.

Re:Slightly OT...

[Anonymous Coward]

Quantum mechanics. Electrons try to get as close as possible to the nucleus, except they can't get any close than to orbit because energy can only be shed in particular units (hence the phrase a quantum of energy). Imagine an electron approaching a bare nucleus. As it gets closer it speeds up and overshoots the nucleus (since no force has cancelled out its forward motion). Of course, the nucleus still pulls on the electron after it goes by--now slowing it instead of speeding it. So, the electron slows, stops, then heads toward the nucleus. Again, it over shoots, setting up an orbit. Now, in order for the electron to make a smaller orbit it would need to go slower in relation to the nucleus, ie. lose some energy. Electrons can lose energy by giving off photons, but photons only come in certain sizes. So, the electron gives off as many photons as it can, but it always has a little energy left, leaving it in an orbit. Of course, it's more complex than this, but that's the basic version as established in like 1911 or so.

Re:Slightly OT...

[naarok]

Yes, give an electron more energy and it jumps to a higher state, then, when the electron drops back to its original state it will release a photon. What's your point. We aren't talking about electrons flying away from the nucleus, but crashing into it.

Taking a snapshot in time of the atom, I can accept the idea that the kinetic energy equals the electrostitic potential and the electrons orbit. But doesn't entropy imply that this orbit must decay? I'm not sure where the kinetic energy would go, but it seems intuitive that an electron can't keep the same kinetic energy forever.

That's where viewing the electrons orbit as a probability distributions rather than a Newtonian orbit makes sense. The fact that the ground state of a hydrogen atom has spherical symmetry also argues against a Netwonian orbit.

Of course I've been away from physics for 10 years and could just be talking bullshit.

Re:Slightly OT...

[naarok]

I seem to be talking to myself, oh well.

I just need to add a disclaimer that after reading more of the content on the link I provided above (to bel.150m.com), I'm not convinced of the reliability of that website. Interesting reading, but doesn't seem authoritative.

That's what I get for linking to something too quickly.

Choice for 115

[Anonymous Coward]

Im holding out for element 115 to be called elerium.

Durmstrangium

[sidvishus9]

Element 114 will be Durmstrangium, after the school of a certain proficient Quiddich player...

Why that...

[aled]

... darm name? Oh, I got it.

WTF?

[Fazer]

Can someone please repeat that in plain english? kthx.

Re:WTF?

[Wraithlyn]

OK, going to try an analogy. Don't try this at home kids.

Imagine an atomic nucleus as a bunch of magnets, all repulsing each other (protons). But, they have elastic bands holding them together (nuclear force).

The more magnets you add, the more force is exterted on the elastic bands, which makes them stretch and eventually break.

So, you can keep making bigger and bigger atoms by forcing more protons together, but it gets to the point where they tear themselves apart pretty much instantly from the repulsive force.

Apologies to any real physicists, who have probably just fallen out of their chairs laughing. :)

Re:WTF?

[dschuetz]

Magnets? Rubber bands?

Whatever happened to the "Pros," the "New Guys," and the "Elected Ones"?

Darmstadt --- now there's a nothing-city

[plinius]

Anybody ever been there? It's the definition of provincialism. All I've ever heard is that it's a place to AVOID.

Observe the reaction between Sconium and Linuxium

[Linker3000]

In a very uncontrolled (and some would say "unwise") experiment, Sconium was brought into contention with various compounds containing Linuxium or Unixium, using Darlmcbridium as a catalyst.

The resulting decomposition allowed various component parts of the original compounds to be analysed for similar or identical structures.

Initial results show that the the catalyst may have actually damaged the structure of Sconium in a way that makes it ineffective for practical use in any ongoing work.

The breakdown of the Linuxium and Unixium compounds only seems to produce stronger bonds within the immediate family of elements and their attractors. Further experiments showed that interactions between Sconium and Ibmnium produced a corrosive formula resulting in partial neutralisation of the former by the latter.

In general, any exposure to Darlmcbridium seems to produce a lot of hot air.

I swear...

[Maudib]

These god awful impossible to pronounce element names are half the reason I got a c in chem.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh LATIN. ARent we special cause we use a two thousand year old language to name elements (and animals for that name! wtf?) that are ten minutes old.

Theres a reason Latin isnt spoken any longer (barring the church, like you really want to use the church to defend scientific naming conventions. Go ahead, I double dare you!)

Re:I swear...

[swordgeek]

Man, the whole world just seems out to get you.

Latin is an ideal language, because it's universally dead. Laugh if you will, but picking english names or russian or french or yiddish, is obnoxious to the segment of the world that doesn't speak the language.

Perhaps if you can't deal with names like this (or the transition metals--rhodium, iridium, etc.) you really did deserve that c.

Re:What the hell? Real periodic table here

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, that one sucks, it doesn't even have the element this article is about. Try WebElements.

Trogdorium?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not?

Woah...the Germans got 110 and 111?

[Delron Da Thugg]

Well why don't they name 111 Krautanium?

Ununnilium

[Urthpaw]

So Ununnilium was only a temporary name? I always like that name.

*ium

[Anonymous Coward]

all the newer higher no. elements have the standard "ium" ending. whatever happened to the day of originality with naming new elements. (i.e. iron, gold, silver) or are they thinking that the "ium" ending makes it sound new and fresh and hip for the kids to like?

Re:*ium

[Dahan]

iron, gold, and silver are translations... ferrum, aurum, and argentum are the Latin names (which is why the symbols for those elements are Fe, Au, and Ag). The "um" ending just sounds traditional and Latin...

I like the trend to place names

[Ralph Spoilsport]

it used to be that elements were named for gods and goddesses and other more "universal" objects. Then one day in the 20th century some ego centric dickwad decided that the element should bear the name of some scientist...

Great. So all we would need is a scientist named Boner, and we'd have boneronium. Now that's just SO inspiring.

There seems to be a trend to place names for elements, which is fine by me. I can deal with darmstadtium a damn site-ium easier than Hoffmannium or Oganessianium...

Frankly, I'd like to see all the elements named after people changed to something more impersonal. Nuclear binding notwithstanding, all you gotta do is cram a bunch of neutrons and protons together and you get new element. Sure, it's (WAY) more complex than that, but basically, that's all there is to it, and I think that putting personal ego gratification into it just sullies the waters for what could be much more inspiring and poetic responses to such work.

newyorkium. bostonium. londonium. muscovium. madridium. bernium. portlandium. stanfordium. etc.

Much nicer. More poetic than (John) Smithium, (Jim) Jonesium, or (Betty Jo) Bealovskium.

And why is it always "ium"? How about "an" or "gen"? Like darmstadtigen?

The problem with science geeks is the world they work in is visionless. The problem with art geeks is the world they work in is blind.

RS

Tinfoil Hats and Element 115

[mraymer]

Whenever I hear any of the higher elements mentioned, I think of a pretty insane conspiracy theory out there. I don't expect to be modded informative for this, but I think the story is worth a couple funny mods. ;)

I learned about this by watching an interview on a "Sightings"-like show where someone claimed to have worked at "Area 51" years ago.

His story was that UFO sightings are due to experimental antigravity aircraft that the military is testing out. He claimed that these craft created an antigravity field using some quantity of element 115... and he also claimed that element 115 was extraterrestrial in origin. Some pretty whacky stuff, entertaining.

In other news...

[rkuris]

The Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) has claimed this has violated their trademark. "This element has many things in common with Sulphur, Carbon and Oxygen, which is clearly our trademark (SCO)" says Darl McBride, president and CEO of SCO. "Anyone who attempts to name this element is also in violation of our IP, which we intend to call Scoium". Open source advocates are suggesting a name of "SiCO" because they think it has more in common with Silicon than Sulphur, besides the obvious reason.

Darn Stadium

[WoTG]

Did anyone else read it as darn stadium?

What happened to nice, short names? Hydrogen, Xeon, Silver, Darmstadtium - one of these doesn't quite fit. I guess there was no word in old latin for element 110...

Re:Darn Stadium

[swordgeek]

"Hydrogen, Xeon, Silver, Darmstadtium..."

You're right, and it's Xeon. Intel has been chewing on your brain a bit too much, I guess. :-)

Re:Darn Stadium

[WoTG]

Whoops. You're right, of course. Sorta. =)

I thought it looked wrong when I first typed it...

heh, coincidence

[Trogre]

I just discovered an excellent little app called Kalzium in my RH9 distro, and what do I see featured on /. ?

It currently lists element 110 as Ununnilium.

Some additional suggestions:

[dbretton]

goatsecxium
allyourbaseium
torvaldsium
alanco xium

Re:Some additional suggestions:

[Anonymous Coward]

> goatsecxium - allyourbaseium - torvaldsium - alancoxium

how about 'cunnilinguium'? (kun-uh-LING-gwee-yum) :)

-- Smoov

Had to be Said...

[dbretton]

ImagineABeowulfClusterOfThesium

Kickin' it old school in der reich

[Anonymous Coward]

Heilhitlerium, anyone?

I for one...

[Call Me Black Cloud]

...welcome the new element Overlordium...blah blah blah...round up people to work in their underground physics labs.

discovered?

[sonictheboom]

discovered? surely you mean invented or at least made? To discover the element implies searching for it in the wild.

Stewiism

[crashnbur]

"For every new element you discover, I shall kill you!"

Thats not even a real table

[Bwooce]

A real table of elements

Moderate parents down

[Anonymous Coward]

Moderators, mod parent down. This joke already appereared in this discussion twenty minutes earlier: #7184913