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Element 114 Verified

ExRex writes "A team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has observed the production of superheavy element 114, confirming the results of researchers at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. Those researchers first reported producing element 114 in 1999. Such independent verification is important, particularly given the evidence of fabricated results for other superheavy elements. If you're a subscriber to Physical Review Letters, you can download the full article."

142 comments

  1. Verified? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe it is certified. Maybe it is Cisco certified! What the hell kind of scientific terminology is that...

  2. The Russians found it? by cryfreedomlove · · Score: 4, Funny

    Mr. President, we cannot allow an Element 114 gap!

    1. Re:The Russians found it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When do they begin human trials on dissidents abroad?

    2. Re:The Russians found it? by ndunnuck · · Score: 1

      Sweet! Only one away from 115! Anyone else thinking Elerium? Imagine the technological possibilities.

  3. 114? Wow man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's HEAVY.

  4. Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    We already know how many electrons and protons there are gonna be -- why not just publish the formula and the basic properties like Mendeleyev used to do?

    1. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by simcop2387 · · Score: 5, Informative

      mostly because the fun information these days isn't related to the number of electrons but how stable the atoms are, which helps theories that describe how stable the elements should be to be verified.

    2. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

      First of all I'm not sure what you mean by formula, and as for the basic properties, they mostly all come down to the half-life.

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    3. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Funny

      You know! The FORMULA:

      You put some protons in,
      and pull some neutrons out,
      then you toss in some electrons,
      and you shake it all about.
      You publish real quick just in case your funding is in doubt.
      And that's what it's all about!

      Tip your waitpeople, I'll be here all week!

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    4. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by PDX · · Score: 1

      In theory wouldn't anti-helium be more stable than anti-hydrogen. It being a noble anti-gas and all that.

    5. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Half-Life? Yes, the G-Man already knows about the basic properties of this element.

    6. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by jbezorg · · Score: 5, Informative

      Iron Oxide is not the degradation of the iron atom but the binding of the molecule to Oxygen. In fact, nuclei of the iron atom has one of the highest binding energies per nucleon.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Binding_energy_curve_-_common_isotopes.svg

      To the right of the apex in the chart above, fission is the process to release energy. To the left of the apex, fusion. At the apex, one of the elements you will find is iron. To make a long story short, this chart is one of the reasons why you find iron cores in stars.

      --
      I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
    7. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by setagllib · · Score: 2, Informative

      Leave both in a vacuum and see which one lasts longer. There's a very clear definition of atomic stability that is markedly different from chemical reactivity.

      --
      Sam ty sig.
    8. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Ihmhi · · Score: 1

      Bravo, good sir, bravo!

    9. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by growse · · Score: 3, Funny

      You failed chemistry, didn't you?

      --
      There is nothing interesting going on at my blog
    10. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      No, he phailed fysics.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    11. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Dragonslicer · · Score: 2, Informative

      In theory wouldn't anti-helium be more stable than anti-hydrogen. It being a noble anti-gas and all that.

      Chemically, yes, anti-helium would be more inert than anti-hydrogen. Mutual annihilation isn't a chemical reaction, though.

    12. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Convector · · Score: 1

      Would that make it an "ignoble" gas? A mean-spirited, EVIL gas? Of doom?

    13. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Migraineman · · Score: 1

      I would expect to find iron as the remaining element at the energy-death of the universe. Fusion of lighter elements releases energy and trends toward production of iron. Fission of heavier elements releases energy and trends toward production of iron. Iron (pronounced "aahrn" by my high school shop teacher) is the universe's waste product.

    14. Re:Why the need to 'discover' the elements? by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      "Waitpeople"? For real?? Is that "political correctness" (=being pathetic) gone horribly wrong?

      Wanna know what will fuck with your head in that case?
      The question: "What? Are men too good to call themselves 'waitresses'? Do they think they are something better?"

      MUHAHAHAHAAA... ^^

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  5. just great. by stupidsocialscientis · · Score: 5, Funny

    now i need a new periodic table

    --
    Well, as far as Sig's go, Freud was a doozy.
    1. Re:just great. by Robin47 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Use a sharpie.

    2. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...yes, that's why it's called a periodic table: every now and then you need to replace it. Otherwise it would have been called a permanent table. :)

    3. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...yes, that's why it's called a periodic table: every now and then you need to replace it. Otherwise it would have been called a permanent table. :)

      No, it's because some people get all PMSey when you change one little thing.

    4. Re:just great. by schon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Here ya go. This one's guaranteed to never need updating. :)

    5. Re:just great. by kurzweilfreak · · Score: 1

      I hadn't seen that before, that's freaking awesome. Thank you for that. Down with the creationists!

      --

      kurzweil_freak

      5th Kyu Genbukan Ninpo/KJJR student

      Be the darkness that allows the light to shine.

    6. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hurrah for strawmen!

    7. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      now i need a new periodic table

      FYI, natural elements have remained fairly stable it's the lab produced ones that change with time. Something that tends to last for milli-seconds under lab conditions isn't changing the fundimental nature of the Universe. You aren't going to find an asteroid composed of mainly Element 114. Just get a chart of the "Natural Elements" and be happy. The rest are a curiousity and nothing more. In a sense they should be thought of as "Possible Elements" given the fact they don't show up in nature.

    8. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet the textbook publishers are excited about this.

      "University Chemistry Seventh Edition - Includes coverage of ELEMENT 114" (i.e. the periodic table on the inside cover has been updated).

    9. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the heck? Where's the Stupidity? Einstein said that Stupidity was the most abundant element in the universe!

    10. Re:just great. by necro81 · · Score: 1

      This explains how chemistry textbooks keep coming out with new editions every freakin' year so they can charge you an arm and a leg.

    11. Re:just great. by socsoc · · Score: 1

      Next the Astronomy guys are gonna kick Pluto outta the solar system to sell more books...

    12. Re:just great. by Ornedan · · Score: 1

      "Natural elements", "Possible elements", WTF? And how much are you willing to be on, for example, element 114 never having been created in a supernova?

    13. Re:just great. by Convector · · Score: 1

      You could get an occasional table.

    14. Re:just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course I HAVE TO CHANGE THE ONE LITTLE THING, because NOBODY ELSE IN THIS HOUSE can EVER change A F****** THING, CAN THEY???

    15. Re:just great. by stoned_hamster · · Score: 1

      black, silver, red, blue, green, pink.....

      --
      Smoking cures cancer. Smoking also cures stupidity. check darwinawards . com for some stupid stuff
    16. Re:just great. by cheesybagel · · Score: 1

      Plutonium was actually synthesized before it was found to occur in nature.

    17. Re:just great. by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      Mine goes to 128. So it's still good for some time. :)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  6. But what about Element 115? by __aagctu1952 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Fine, fine, element 114 has been verified. Now, if they could just get a move on with element 115, we could make our UFO Power Sources work and finally get those Firestorms into the air. We're practically defenseless against the sectoids!

    1. Re:But what about Element 115? by CharlyFoxtrot · · Score: 2, Informative

      Damn I loved that game. Link for those of you who don't get the joke, now go play it in DOSbox.

      --
      If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
    2. Re:But what about Element 115? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do we have element 115 yet? Then we could test if this guy is right...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Lazar

    3. Re:But what about Element 115? by Xaositecte · · Score: 1

      To this day I have nightmares about the Chryssalids. It's like an Alien Zombie apocalypse rolled into one nightmarish black killing machine. Science can't save us, nothing can save us, we're doomed, DOOOOOMED!

    4. Re:But what about Element 115? by icebike · · Score: 1

      We already have element 115: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununpentium

      But it was uninteresting.

      Personally, I'm drawn to The 5th Element.

      http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thefifthelement/
      Yes, especially the 5th...

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    5. Re:But what about Element 115? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      [joke about Boron]

    6. Re:But what about Element 115? by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2, Informative

      The only active X-Com forums on the internet nowadays. Game runs great in DOSbox and Xcomutil fixes the problems with the game. Still a great mix of strategy plus action/strategy game.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    7. Re:But what about Element 115? by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      To this day I have nightmares about the Chryssalids.

      I remember my first Chryssalid encounter; it was at a mall Terror-site. My units had laser pistols and no armor, and there were zombies all over. "Weird", I thought, then I shot a zombie at point blank range. Oops.

    8. Re:But what about Element 115? by hitmark · · Score: 1

      let me guess, you second encounter with them involved lots and lots of firebombs, and no civilans alive?

      --
      comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
    9. Re:But what about Element 115? by Webcommando · · Score: 1

      [joke about Boron]

      I know the intent was based on the actual periodic table, but it is used in a cult movie I need to mention. I think even on slashdot it might be a bit obscure movie: Gamers: Dorkness Rising.

      It is a movie about gamers (mostly the in game adventures their characters are having) and the players social interactions. It is an indy film and is very good. I attend GenCon every year and get to see many of these kinds of films and it is one of the best.

      The full quote from the film (if I can fully remember) during a discussion of the traditional earth, wind, water, fire elements: "The four elements alone are weak, but when combined, they make the strong fifth element....boron"

      Yes, off topic, but couldn't resist the opportunity.

      --
      I love the sound of distortion in the morning -- webcommando
    10. Re:But what about Element 115? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm ahead of you by a week... already beat UFO... now on TFTD.

  7. Odd by MSDos-486 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Didn't the team that falsified the info about 114 and 116 come from Lawrence Livermoore

    1. Re:Odd by MSDos-486 · · Score: 1

      Correction from Lawrence Berkley

    2. Re:Odd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to the official report, it was one guy's fault.

  8. And why is this important? by dmgxmichael · · Score: 1

    Stupid question from a non-physicist -- What is the point in synthesizing elements with half lives measured in seconds if not microseconds?

    1. Re:And why is this important? by Renraku · · Score: 1

      Some isotopes of them might be stable. The properties of these stable isotopes might be desirable. Imagine if we found an exotic super-heavy element that was stable and easy to fission? We might be able to work it into the nuclear reprocessing chain and squeeze some more energy out.

      --
      Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
    2. Re:And why is this important? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 5, Informative

      A variety of reasons. First of all, because it is interesting and fun. Why do you think people are searching for very large prime numbers? http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/10/15/154227/12M-Digit-Prime-Number-Sets-Record-Nets-100000 Do you think they are all doing this because of possible benefits to abstract areas of number theory any more than people climb Everest for practical reasons? Second, seeing that these elements match up to our predictions help us get a better understanding of physics. Third, there is some reason to suspect that there may be farther ahead islands of stability where the elements become more stable again. While it is unlikely that those areas are stable enough for those elements to live long enough to be of practical use, the chance otherwise is not tiny. So there may be direct practical benefits. But the main reasons are because it is cool and humans are ever curious creatures.

    3. Re:And why is this important? by tim_darklighter · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, the closer we can get to finding an island of stability, the better.

    4. Re:And why is this important? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yeah you might be able to make Helium fuse. I can't wait. On the upside I probably wouldn't see it coming.

    5. Re:And why is this important? by sleeponthemic · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why do you think people are searching for very large prime numbers?

      The nookie.. obviously.

      --
      I record my sleeptalking
    6. Re:And why is this important? by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      So why don't we see those stable elements in nature?

    7. Re:And why is this important? by dakameleon · · Score: 1

      Just because we don't find them in earth-bound surface-accessible "nature" doesn't mean they don't exist somewhere in the universe - perhaps somewhere out there was a heavier supernova that produced element 114 or higher.

      --
      Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
    8. Re:And why is this important? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 3, Informative

      They would only be produced in supernova and in vanishingly small quantities. This isn't as unreasonable as it sounds. We've had cases of elements discovered first in stars and then on Earth (helium) but we've also had the reverse where an element has been discovered on Earth and after having a better idea what we are looking for we find it in stars. However, even if these more stable elements exist they would not be at all common. Supernova aren't very efficient producers of heavy elements. They have trouble producing elements much past uranium because stars can't get so big and they aren't deliberately smashing things together repeatedly.

    9. Re:And why is this important? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Calculating higher prime numbers allow for better/safer encryption of digital data.

    10. Re:And why is this important? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 4, Interesting

      So you would think but not really. The sort of very large primes found that I linked to uses a highly specialized algorithm. It only finds primes of the form 2^n-1 which are very rare and also generally much too large to use in practical crypto. You are welcome to make your private key the product of two large Mersenne primes. The rest of us would rather use randomly selected primes of a few hundred digits.

    11. Re:And why is this important? by wvmarle · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those "islands of stability" have been predicted long time ago. What I don't understand is why those researchers do not try to make those elements, instead of the intermediate ones.

      Afaik making those superheavy elements is done by fusing lighter ones. Not by building them up brick-by-brick (or proton/neutron by proton/neutron). So I wonder why not just go for the ones that are predicted to be more stable? Is there something we need to know from slightly-less-heavy elements that we can't predict before making those more stable ones?

    12. Re:And why is this important? by wvmarle · · Score: 1

      Predicted half-lives are in the order of hours, maybe days. That's why. That's also why many of the lighter elements we can make artificially are not (or barely) present in nature. Think of all the elements used in radiotherapy and so, they also tend to have half-lives in the order of hours or days.

    13. Re:And why is this important? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 2, Informative

      Er, and that should be "public key" not private key. The private key is the pair of primes. The public key is their product.

    14. Re:And why is this important? by 4D6963 · · Score: 1

      Or the next one :

      “The next island is located very far from the first one,” said Oganessian. How far away might that next island be" In terms of numbers on the periodic table, it could lie around atomic number 164, as some theorists predicted, certainly a long way from where researchers are exploring today in hopes of discovering element 120. (from here)

      --
      You just got troll'd!
    15. Re:And why is this important? by Nazlfrag · · Score: 4, Informative

      Perhaps the same reason we don't see astronomically common stable elements like Tellerium.

      From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tellurium:

      The extreme rarity of tellurium in the Earth's crust is not a reflection of its cosmic abundance, which is in fact greater than that of rubidium, even though rubidium is ten thousand times more abundant in the Earth's crust. The extraordinarily low abundance of tellurium on Earth is because during the Earth's formation, the stable form of elements in the absence of oxygen and water was controlled by the oxidation and reduction of hydrogen. Under this scenario elements such as tellurium which form volatile hydrides were severely depleted during the formation of the Earth's crust through evaporation. Tellurium and selenium are the heavy elements mostly depleted in the Earth's crust by this process.

    16. Re:And why is this important? by StrongAxe · · Score: 1

      You are welcome to make your private key the product of two large Mersenne primes.

      Since all Mersenne primes are of the form 2^p-1, one only need to search p possibilities. Since the largest currently known Mersenne prime is 2^43112609, this is equivalent to 26-bit encryption. Also, since only 47 Mersenne primes are actually known, one could use a simple table search, reducing this to 6-bit encryption. Breaking 6-bit encryption is left as an exercise for the reader.

    17. Re:And why is this important? by Burdell · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, assuming you are talking about RSA, neither the private key nor the public key is the pair of primes or the product of the primes. The product of the primes is used with both the private and public keys, and the other part of the keys are two related exponents, one made public and one kept private.

    18. Re:And why is this important? by physburn · · Score: 4, Informative
      Most of the transuranic elements, are super unstable nucleii, that decay in second. According the nuclear shell theory, certain nucleii with magic numbers of either protons or neutron or both, would be extra stable, maybe stable enough to be a useful radioisotope. Proton numbers 110,114 and 126 are sure magic numbers. So finding element 114 should help confirm the theory, unfortunately its very hard to make such an element with enough neutrons, so the isotopes confirmed today are neutron short and only last a few second, 288 and 288 Uuq 114, better than the near by isotopes that only last milliseconds, but to short even to be chemically analysed. 298 Uuq 114, (ten neutrons more), is the on that is predicted to be to extra stable.

      ---

      Nuclear Power Feed @ Feed Distiller

    19. Re:And why is this important? by wizardforce · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well it's not like they're purposely missing the target here... They've tried to make isotopes with a higher n/p ratio near the island of stability it's just that it's hard to find two high n/p isotopes to smash together to make a larger one. As you go toward higher elements the n/p ratio needs to be larger to afford more stable isotopes. This means that you'd effectively need to smash two isotopes together that have n/p ratios ideal for higher elements but markedly unstable for lower elements. THen there's the problem that when you smash two isotopes together to make these higher elements, it often knocks out a few neutrons from the composite nucleus due to the sheer high energies involved. This means that you'd probably have to use lower isotopes that have even higher n/p ratios that just don't last very long. (they're very unstable) Of course you'd think that you could just keep adding neutrons or tritium nuclei repeatedly to get higher elements but that doesn't work either as it usually ends up causing a fission reaction. In fact, the vast majority of any reactions attempted so far to produce higher elements has resulted in an inordinate number of composite nuclei undergoing fission immediately. Out of 10^12 reactions, you'd be fairly lucky to find one of them actually producing an isotope of a higher element.

      --
      Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
    20. Re:And why is this important? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 1

      Yeah. (I always think of it as just the product and the factorization because I'm sloppy and you can get the private exponent if you know the factorization). Anyways, take home point: Using Mersenne primes for RSA is bad. Using them for most other prime based encryption would be bad also (although for some of these such as Diffie-Hellman the reasons that Mersenne primes are bad are a bit more subtle).

    21. Re:And why is this important? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Why don't we see Plutonium or Neptunium in nature? Because despite there being "stable" isotopes with half-lives measured in millions of years, the age of the Earth is several orders of magnitude greater than that. Any isotope with a half-life less than about 30 million years would be completely decayed over the current age of the Earth (~4.5 billion years), even if it began as abundant as Iron (nearly 1/3 of Earth's mass) not a single atom would remain today.

      The isotopes in the "island of stability" would be far too short lived to exist on Earth from natural production.

    22. Re:And why is this important? by ndogg · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And that's why I want to be a mathematician. For the ladies!

      They love it when I integrate with them. And months after that, we'll derive!

      And years later, we'll try to figure out why nothing has changed.

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    23. Re:And why is this important? by Jarik+C-Bol · · Score: 1

      because eventually we're going to find one that *is* stable, and the chemistry world will got tits over assholes to learn more about it. At great entertainment value to the rest of the world.

      --
      I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
    24. Re:And why is this important? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      What I don't understand is why those researchers do not try to make those elements, instead of the intermediate ones.

      Probably never occurred to them. We should get rid of these so called experts and replace them with random internauts, taxi drivers and old gits in bars. Thay always have the answers.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    25. Re:And why is this important? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Under this scenario elements such as tellurium which form volatile hydrides were severely depleted during the formation of the Earth's crust through evaporation.

      So space stinks of something like garlic and bad eggs?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    26. Re:And why is this important? by Sgt.+B · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately they are working on gaps and consuming higher elements to do so but you are right. Even though I think it's a waste to invest so much time and money to create something that serves no purpose and vanishes in such little time, maybe by accident someone will discover something useful while playing this billion dollar game of marbles.

      If I drew a chart back in school where I omitted things and then had to go back and slip 2 rows of items where there were only 2 spaces, I would have failed. The fact that the periodic table is drawn this way means it is still wrong. There is something else at play that we don't yet understand.

      I like Dr. Peter Plichta's findings. He looks at it from a different perspective. Look up his books on Amazon. They are an interesting read on this subject.

  9. Um... fabricated? by argent · · Score: 1

    Such independent verification is important, particularly given the evidence of fabricated results for other superheavy elements.

    Unfortunately, the article that story is pointing to claiming that it was fraud rather than error has expired from Yahoo's site. Do you have a better link?

    1. Re:Um... fabricated? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 1

      This copy of a New York Times article discusses the matter in detail and provides a lot of the surrounding history and reaction of the physics community: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/15/science/at-lawrence-berkeley-physicists-say-a-colleague-took-them-for-a-ride.html?scp=2&sq=Smolanczuk&st=cse

    2. Re:Um... fabricated? by argent · · Score: 2, Informative

      Thanks, I found more details in this paper.

  10. Why cheat? by cryfreedomlove · · Score: 1

    Didn't the team that falsified the info about 114 and 116 come from Lawrence Livermoore

    What is the chain of thought that leads researchers to that level of fraud? Eventual exposure and disgrace is always the most likely outcome.

    1. Re:Why cheat? by EdIII · · Score: 2, Funny

      What is the chain of thought that leads researchers to that level of fraud? Eventual exposure and disgrace is always the most likely outcome.

      Yeah, but until the exposure and disgrace the get to use their new found Science Street Cred and massive fame and accompanying financial rewards to score with uber-hot Science Groupies.

      Right?

    2. Re:Why cheat? by ResidntGeek · · Score: 1

      "Oh my God, NO results? I've been working on this fucking shit for 4 years! How the fuck are there no results? What the shit do I tell the boss??"

      --
      ResidntGeek
  11. bit late dont you think? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    this guy had time to make a youtube video on the subject

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX-gqFChAyk

  12. Finally! by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 1

    Great! Only one more to go and we can start researching powersuits and UFO construction.

    --
    Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
    altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
  13. One step closer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    To Elerium-115!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elerium-115

  14. About time! (SF prediction) by StefanJ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    An old Poul Anderson story, Mirkheim, used a stable superheavy element, eka-platinum, as a Maguffin.

    In the novel, the stuff was produced in a supernova. A gas giant planet was walloped by the explosion, blowing away its atmosphere leaving a creamy nougat center very dense rocky core. The heavy elements produced by the supernova were plastered across its surface.

    As I recall, the planet's discovery by the galaxy's great powers caused a political crisis and the threat of war. The stuff was highly valued. The one use I recall was a hull plating used by hydrogen-breathing races.

  15. Elerium by Kazymyr · · Score: 1, Funny

    One more to go till we get Elerium-115.

    --
    I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
  16. Pics or it didn't happen. by zish · · Score: 1

    Yeah, um, show us some photos! While you're at it, I wanna see Unnilquadium too! And if ya' got some time, how about some unobtainium?

    --
    Spork.

    P.S. Spork.
    1. Re:Pics or it didn't happen. by bertoelcon · · Score: 3, Funny

      And if ya' got some time, how about some unobtainium?

      You can get pics of hot girls through an easy google image search.

      --
      Anything can be found funny, from a certain point of view.
  17. The atomic weight of Bolognium.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...is snacktacular!

  18. Dear God man, but what does it DO!? by Narcocide · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    This could finally be the Bolognium we have all been waiting for!!

    Seriously though... what does it do?

  19. Don't tell the terrorists by jesser · · Score: 1, Funny

    I hear element 114 is highly radioactive.

    --
    The shareholder is always right.
    1. Re:Don't tell the terrorists by ae1294 · · Score: 1

      I hear element 114 is highly radioactive.

      Really? ummm I've been painting my walls with it for years now and nothing bad has happened! makes a great night-light...

  20. Element 114 is superheavy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But what class of chemical element is it?

    I, for one, am hoping that it is SUPER FUCKING HEAVY METAL! \m/

  21. This was news 3 weeks ago? by Bruha · · Score: 1

    Could of sworn this was up 3 weeks ago on CNN. Slow news day?

    1. Re:This was news 3 weeks ago? by The+Orange+Mage · · Score: 1

      you must be new here. half the stories on here end up like that

    2. Re:This was news 3 weeks ago? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just half?

    3. Re:This was news 3 weeks ago? by Archimboldo · · Score: 1

      Does that mean slashdot stories have a half-life of 3 weeks?

  22. Cast Down The Heretic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Blasphemer, Heretic, Defiler of the Sacred Ones.

    Thou art Deprived of Your Limbs.

    Thy Nose Shall be Split.

    Thou art Cast Down and Overthrown.

    Ra-Harmakhis Destroyeth Thee.

    He Damneth Thee and Driveth Hooks into Thy Body.

    Isis Sayeth in Mighty Voice,

    "The Number of Thy Days are Cut Short.

    Thy Bones are Broken to Splinters Thy Vertebrae are Severed."

    Horus Hammereth Thy Head.

    The Sons of Heru Smash You with Their Blows.

    Thou Art Decimated by Their Violence.

    Thou Fallest Backwards as Thou Retreateth Like unto Apep.

    The Great Company of Gods Gather in Retribution.

    They Hath Passed Judgment upon Thee.

    They Cast Down Your Heresy.

    They Spit Upon Thee and Thy Rebellion And Turn Their Back upon Thee.

    Horus Repulseth Thy Crocodile.

    Sut Defileth Thy Tomb.

    Nephthys Hacketh Thee in Pieces.

    The Sons of Horus Speareth Thee.

    The Gods Repulse Thee.

    The Flame of Their Fire is Against Thee.

    Cursed Art Thou, Impaled Thou Art, Flayed Art Thou.

    Heretic Thou Art Cast Down.

    Blows are Rained upon Thee.

    Dismemberment and Slaughter are on Thee.

    Thy Crocodile is Trampled under Foot.

    Thy Soul is Wrenched from its Shade.

    Thy Name is Erased.

    Thy Spells are Impotent.

    Nevermore Shalt Thou Emerge from Thy Den.

    Thy City Armana Lays in Ruin.

    Damned Art Thy Accursed Soul and Shadow.

    Die O One, which Art Consumed.

    Thy Name is Buried in Oblivion.

    Silence Covereth Thee and Thy False One.

    Down upon Thy Belly.

    Be Drowned, Be Drowned, Be Vomited Upon.

    [Guitar solo]

    The Gods have Pronounced Thy Doom.

    They Scorn Thee and Thy False Aten.

    The Ancient Ones Turn Their Backs upon Thee.

    Thou Art Cast Down, Overthrown.

    Thy Reign of Heresy is Ended.

    Those Thou Hast Driven Out Have Risen Against Thee.

    Cast down the Heretic.

    Cast down the Heretic.

    Cast down the Heretic.

    Khnemu Draggeth Thy Spawn to the Block of Slaughter.

    Sick Shalt Thou be at the Mention of Thine Own Name.

    Sekhmet Teareth Out Thy Bowels and Casteth Them into Flames.

    She Filleth Thine Orifices with Fire.

    Uadjit Shutteth Thee in the Pits of Burning.

    Nevermore Shall You Breathe or Procreate.

    Neither Thy House or Tomb Exist.

    Thou Shalt Drive Thy Teeth into Thine Own Body.

    Heretic, Thou Art Cast Down.

    Overthrown, Ended, Hacked in Pieces, Slaughtered, Butchered.

    Ra Hath Made Thoth to Slay Thee Utterly.

  23. Naming? by cashman73 · · Score: 1
    So now, the original team gets to name it? With President Obama's global popularity right now, what do you think the odds of naming it Obamium are? Of course, I'd bet the Stephen Colbert will be on the show in a week calling for us to send these guys an email asking them to name it Colbertium ,... =)

    >

    1. Re:Naming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's super heavy. Michaelmooreium?

  24. A human element (ha!) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was pleased to read that Heino Nitsche is one of the project's lead researchers. His general chemistry course at Berkeley was very informative and enjoyable (and not just because he has a German accent and glorious mad scientist mustache); I've yet to meet someone who can get that excited about chemistry at 9 a.m. :)

    I still remember a story he told us during the unit on radioactivity and nuclear decay. One of his cats, sick with cancer, was treated with radioactive I-131. After the cat "cooled off" at the vet hospital, Heino took him home, nursed him back to health, and, like a true scientist, measured the cat's radioactivity every morning with a Geiger counter. Sure enough, the measured decay curve strongly matched the predicted one. The cat lived for several more years, too.

    If you want a brief overview of the history of heavy element synthesis, especially as it pertains to Berkeley, check out his lecture (47) on the subject.

    1. Re:A human element (ha!) by R2.0 · · Score: 1

      "glorious mad scientist mustache);"

      Wait - you mean all those 70's porn stars were also mad scientists? Now we know why porn and the internet are so linked.

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  25. Element 119 by Nick+Driver · · Score: 1

    What we really need next is Element 119 ;-)

    1. Re:Element 119 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know aliens read this fiction written as fact/history and assume we already know about them and simply don't care...

  26. Hey let's put it in the LHC by istartedi · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey let's put it in the LHC and see what hap(&(*%&* NO CARRIER.

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
    1. Re:Hey let's put it in the LHC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hel-lo Mr. Freeman...

    2. Re:Hey let's put it in the LHC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess the universe didn't like istartedi.

    3. Re:Hey let's put it in the LHC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just keep the cheddite away from the LHC.

  27. Elements Song by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 2, Funny

    Upon reading the headline, my first thought was "dammit, now Tom Lehrer's Elements Song is even further behind."

    1. Re:Elements Song by minvaren · · Score: 2, Informative

      "...and there's many many others, but they haven't been discoooooovered" summarizes that nicely. :)

      --
      Big! Strong! Wow! Tada-O!
    2. Re:Elements Song by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Well, that's why he added the last two lines.

      "These are the only ones of which the news has come to Haaverd.
      And there may be many others but they haven't been discaaverd."

  28. That's what I'm thinking by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 1

    I have no idea what nothin means 'bout nuthin, but all this theoretical shit means nuthin, until you hit the jackpot.

    Then, we get the magical stuff to built space elevators, time machines, and whatnot, right?

    All joking aside, you don't know what weird shit is good for, until you have enough of it to play around with to find out, right?

    --
    This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
  29. 126 is Kryptonite by sanman2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Let's wait until they discover element 126, formally known as Unbihexium, but labeled by Action Comics as the atomic number for Kryptonite.

    1. Re:126 is Kryptonite by PitaBred · · Score: 1

      Don't we need Superman before Kryptonite is of any real use?

  30. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where's the obligatory mention of the 'Fifth Element'?
    *sigh*
    When hot red-headed aliens escape the attention of the
    nerd/geek fan base, I start to worry that as a whole we
    are getting old.

  31. So, we finally have Oppenheimium! by teleny · · Score: 1

    Or, what would you like as a name?

    --
    teleny, friend of cats.
  32. What about elerium-115? by jurgenaut · · Score: 1

    Once we find elerium, all the world's energy problems should be solved forever.

    1. Re:What about elerium-115? by Runefox · · Score: 1

      But only for so long as we can keep shooting down those pesky UFO's! Nothing a few Firestorms and an Avenger can't fix, though. =D

      --
      Screw the rules, I have green hair!
  33. Re:114? Wow man... by k3vlar · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's HEAVY.

    There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

    --
    Unlike porn, which yada yada rimshot hey-ooh!
  34. Re:114? Wow man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    GREAT SCOTT!

  35. It's the LHC... by wiredog · · Score: 1

    While the hole they made wasn't black, it was very very dark. And heavy.

    1. Re:It's the LHC... by Enry · · Score: 1

      It's a white hole.

      (So what is it?)

  36. Re:What about by Junior+Samples · · Score: 2, Informative

    elerium-115?

    I thought the official name of element 115 was Ununpentium. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununpentium
    It's listed as Uup on a Dept of Navy periodic chart that was issued in the 1990s.

    Robert Lazar discusses applications of Element 115 at his web site: http://www.boblazar.com/closed/gravity.htm

  37. Re:What about by smoker2 · · Score: 1

    Bob Lazar is still around ? After all that area 51 crap ?

  38. in soviet russia by nimbius · · Score: 2, Funny

    element discovers you!

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  39. Re:What about by acohen1 · · Score: 1

    Its a reference to the seminal PC game X-COM aka UFO: Enemy Unknown.

  40. Re:114? Wow man... by emandres · · Score: 1

    There's an interesting caveat to calling this element heavy. Just because it has 114 protons doesn't necessarily mean that it's "heavy". The "heaviest" elements are the densest ones, which tend to fall in the middle of the transition metals. If I recall correctly, 114 falls on the on the right side of the transition metals, so it might not be all that "heavy". There are reasons why this happen, something about the f-orbitals actually allowing atoms to get closer to one another, but it's been a long time since college chemistry.

    --
    The only way to tell the difference between a hamster and a gerbil is that the hamster has more white meat.
  41. Beware all Scientists.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Sapphire and Steel have been assigned.

  42. Who cares about this... WHAT'S IT CALLED??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah blah blah scifi, syfy, etc, etc. What are the ruskies naming this puppy?? (and the next 3 they checked out?)

  43. just heard at the LHC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    prof 1 ....right Gordon, every things ready
    prof 2 ....yes, this is the densest sample yet, I understand they went to quite some lengths to get this element 114
    prof 1 - so we will bring the LHC up 115%, a bit of gamble but we need the extra funding
    prof 2 - just follow standard procedure Gordon, and everything will be fine
    prof 1 -I don`t know how you can say that, although I do think the chance of another quench event is remote
    Prof 2 - Gordon doesn`t need to hear this, he`s a highly trained Al-Queda operative
    Prof 1 - ah! yes!, we have every faith in you Gordon
    Prof 2 - right! lets let him in now ...

    Earth destruction in 164287 seconds and counting ...

    GAH! "filter error: Please use fewer "junk" characters, its called "formating text" you dumb computerised period counter, why do I bother!

  44. Re:114? Wow man... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great Scott!

  45. Re:114? Wow man... by Phoghat · · Score: 1
    --
    Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.