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Two Elements Added To Periodic Table

smitty777 writes "Two new elements have been added to the periodic table of the elements. Elements 114 and 116 are the weightiest known, with atomic weights of 289 and 292 respectively. The discoverers are proposing flerovium and moscovium as names for these two new discoveries. There are also arguments being made to add in three more as well: 113, 115 and 118." We've noted element 114 in the past, but this is more official.

27 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Element 115 by jd · · Score: 3, Informative

    Should be called Lazarium. After all, it's safe to say nobody has an earlier claim of discovery. :) (Hey, I said nothing about any actual discovery, just a claim of one.)

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    1. Re:Element 115 by calmofthestorm · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No it should be called elerium.

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    2. Re:Element 115 by fotoflojoe · · Score: 3, Funny

      Upsidaisyum

  2. How about by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 3, Funny

    Farnsworthium?
    "Good news, everyone!"

  3. I'll be most disappointed if.... by Brannoncyll · · Score: 3, Interesting

    element 115 is not given the name Elerium, in honour of the fictional element used to power the spacecraft in the XCOM series. Ununpentium is dull and doesn't really roll off the tongue!

    1. Re:I'll be most disappointed if.... by Haedrian · · Score: 2

      But technically isn't "Elerium-115" mean "Elerium with atomic mass of 115" ? Like "U-235" ?

    2. Re:I'll be most disappointed if.... by Brannoncyll · · Score: 2

      That would be the usual convention, yes. However the online UFOpaedia wiki site (and my vague recollections) suggest that it was also referred to as element 115 in the game. That being said, the wikipedia discussion on ununpentium argues that Elerium-115 should be interpreted as the Elerium isotope of mass 115 rather than element 115, prompting this pop-culture reference's removal from the article.

    3. Re:I'll be most disappointed if.... by Brannoncyll · · Score: 2

      Don't know where you got that information from. According to the font of all knowledge, U 235 makes up 0.72% of natural uranium and is fissile, whereas U 238 is not.

    4. Re:I'll be most disappointed if.... by Arancaytar · · Score: 2

      ... German.

  4. Re:Weightiest by Haedrian · · Score: 2

    Stupid word. Especially since we're probably talking about mass anyway.

  5. Re:Huh by vlm · · Score: 2

    passion and romance ... periodic table

    That sounds like the plot of a xkcd comic...

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  6. How close are we to the island of stability? by JoshuaZ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The real issue isn't these elements which are unstable and not that interesting. The real question is whether the island of stability exists and how close we are to it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_stability If current theories are correct then there may be a section of elements with atomic numbers near 120 that are much more stable. They might even be stable enough to be used for practical purposes if we can synthesize them on a large scale. Depending on the exact model, they might have half-lives as short as a few seconds (which for elements in this range is comparatively large but not large enough to use for any practical purposes) or it might be as much as 100,000 years (there are more optimistic estimates but they seem extremely unlikely). For comparison, tritium has a half-life of about 12 years and is used in a lot of practical applications. So, if the island exists and we find good ways to synthesize these elements, then we might get some very interesting chemistry.

    1. Re:How close are we to the island of stability? by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

      and even more importantly, how does this magic element relate to mining operations on pandora, and is it the stuff that makes 10 foot tall blue chicks hot?

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    2. Re:How close are we to the island of stability? by tokul · · Score: 2

      if the island exists and we find good ways to synthesize these elements, then we might get some very interesting chemistry.

      I am not atom physicist, but if island of stability exists, then we should be able to find those elements without nuclear synthesis. Those elements would exist as they would be created the usual way by mother universe.

      If you have unstable composite with over 250 parts, do you really expect that composite of 300-400 parts will be rock solid.

  7. Re:Weightiest by Lord+Jester · · Score: 4, Informative

    Weightiest is a real word and the use is valid.

    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/weightiest (2b)

  8. Re:Weightiest by kimvette · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I agree, and what's more, the use of the term "weightiest" would be perfectly cromulent had we been discussing weight. However massiest would probably have been even cromulenter.

    --
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  9. Obviously by nschubach · · Score: 2

    “Element 114 obviously isn’t a very catchy name, especially in a sea of molybdenums and seaborgiums. They have temporary titles — ununquadium and ununhexium — but final names are yet to been decided.

    Obviously, the elements must roll off the tongue as well as molybdenum.

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  10. better names by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Informative

    almost obligatory whenever these kinds of stories pop up on slashdot:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_elements,_materials,_isotopes_and_atomic_particles

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:better names by jo_ham · · Score: 2

      hahahahahaha.

      Oh wait, you were serious, let me laugh even harder!

      The layman can't edit wikipedia any more without their changes being immediately reverted as "vandalism" or some other spurious reason by the wiki mods.

  11. Re:Weightiest by aix+tom · · Score: 2

    The "heavy" is probably all worn out from the old "what's heavier, a ton of flerovium or a ton of moscovium?" joke and needed a day off.

  12. Moscovium, placenames by aBaldrich · · Score: 2

    This moscovium made me think of other elements named for places. Europium and Americium for continents. Lutetium for Paris, Californium for California. Dubnium for Dubna, a city in Russia. Francium and Gallium for France, Germanium for Germany, Polonium for Poland), Hafnium for Copenhagen, Holmium for Stockholm (these last 2 from their Latin names). Then Hassium for Hesse (Germany), Rhenium for Eastern France (jk :D), Ruthenium for the old region in Ukraine-Russia, Strontium for a village in Scotland, Berkelium for Berkeley, and Thulium for a mythical island in the north Pole.

    A special mention to the lucky sweddish village of Ytterby that has four elements named in its honor: Yttrium, Ytterbium, Erbium, and Terbium.

    --
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  13. Re:Elerium 115 by x6060 · · Score: 2

    I loved X-COM as a kid! All I want is a heavy plasma rifle.... But seriously, I think youre the only other person on earth I have run into that knows about this game.

  14. Re:Elerium 115 by xkuehn · · Score: 2

    I think youre the only other person on earth I have run into that knows about this game.

    Really? My friends and I used to love it.

    If you don't know about it, you might want to check out UFO:AI (ufoai.ninex.info, or find it on sourceforge). It's very playable but gets boring late in the game. That should improve as the game matures.

  15. Re:Weightiest by X0563511 · · Score: 4, Funny

    That only works if you (for some reason) insist on using the currency-based measure for gold, but not on all the other items.

    That's retarded. One of the first things you do is ensure your units are consistent.

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  16. Re:Huh by RoverDaddy · · Score: 5, Funny

    What happened to that un uh um oo ee oo ah ah standardized naming system?

    They gave up when they realized it would have to be extended to include ting tang walla walla bing bang.

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    RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
  17. Re:Weightiest by EdIII · · Score: 2

    Hint: These arguments might be why we don't get laid that much.

  18. Flavorflavium by Lawrence_Bird · · Score: 2

    was how I read that very quickly.... I'm sure he could come up with a rhyme for it too