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First Superheavy Element Found In Nature

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the maybe-knock-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup dept.

KentuckyFC writes "The first naturally occurring superheavy element has been found. An international team of scientists found several nuclei of unbibium in a sample of the naturally occurring heavy metal thorium. Unbibium has an atomic number of 122 and an atomic weight of 292. In general, very heavy elements tend to be unstable but scientists have long predicted that even heavier nuclei would be stable. The group that found unbibium in thorium say it has a half life in excess of 100 million years and an abundance of about 10^(-12) relative to thorium, which itself is about as abundant as lead." I'd also like it known that my spell checker did not know 'unbibium' before today, but it is now one word closer to encompassing all human knowledge.

3 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Awesome! by Shinmizu · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    The Alliance and Horde both have driven up the prices of Thorium to over 50 gold for a stack of 20 bars in some locales. It's just not economically feasible compared to fossil fuels. Yet.

  2. Spell checkers by David+Horn · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Surely another world first is a Slashdot editor using a spell checker before posting... ;-)

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    PocketGamer.org - For the gamer on the go!
  3. 1-2-2, un-bi-bi by grimJester · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    1-2-2, un-bi-bi vs 1-1-2, un-un-bi.

    Simple, isn't it?