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Japanese Scientists Produce Element 113
Third Position writes "The most unambiguous data to date on the elusive 113th atomic element has been obtained by researchers at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-based Science (RNC). A chain of six consecutive alpha decays, produced in experiments at the RIKEN Radioisotope Beam Factory (RIBF), conclusively identifies the element through connections to well-known daughter nuclides. The search for superheavy elements is a difficult and painstaking process. Such elements do not occur in nature and must be produced through experiments involving nuclear reactors or particle accelerators, via processes of nuclear fusion or neutron absorption. Since the first such element was discovered in 1940, the United States, Russia and Germany have competed to synthesize more of them. Elements 93 to 103 were discovered by the Americans, elements 104 to 106 by the Russians and the Americans, elements 107 to 112 by the Germans, and the two most recently named elements, 114 and 116, by cooperative work of the Russians and Americans. With their latest findings, associate chief scientist Kosuke Morita and his team at the RNC are set follow in these footsteps and make Japan the first country in Asia to name an atomic element."
Hellokittium
If you watch the video of the element decay, you'll be dead within a week.
Yeah, it's not like there's a unit or something named after him...
Was it found at Fukishima Daichii?
Too soon?
Silence is a state of mime.
Such elements do not occur in nature and must be produced through experiments involving nuclear reactors or particle accelerators...
So what you're saying is that they are unable to obtain any... mmm?
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Paperweight?
Stable Island, here we come, baby!
Element 115, for example, can be bombarded with protons to create element 116.... which is unstable and immediately decays, releasing antimatter. This antimatter is used in a total annihilation reaction to fuel the spacecraft.
About 80% of the population of Russia is in the European part.
Since the Asian part of Russia is so sparsely populated, I would guess it just didn't have much of an influence on the development of Asia and Europe as separate entities.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
I was thinking maybe, "Anime-nium"
In fact, we've never considered them separate continents...
No practical uses apart from scientific, as all isotopes of these superheavy elements have short half-lifes (mostly in the ms to a few seconds range). So it's impossible to put significant amounts of such an element together.
But if the "island of stability" theory holds true, we might see some larger amounts of yet-to-be-produced elements. Which might have practical applications (but probably extremely expensive to produce).
I would have guessed Nipponium
Gojiaium.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Given that the scientist's last name is Morita, I figured they call it Moratorium, although with a name like that it might be a while before he discovers another one.
For every post, there is an equal and opposite re-post.
Do you get much more appreciated than having an SI unit named after you?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Any "island of stability" super-heavy elements would find novel uses in chemistry (the very high distance of the outer valences from the neucleus would most probably make them very electropositive, though the potential for "very very inert" super-heavy elements also exists, which would make them useful in other ways.) The intense mass energy in them would make for some interesting experiments involving neutron capture and proton exposure. Depending on the behavior of the isotope in question, it could make a very useful radiation shielding material.
Assuming of course, such island of stability isotopes exist outside of bizzare cases where gravity holds them together. (Like neutron stars)
Then again, you can't beat the novelty of a 100kg weight the size of a golfball sitting on your desk either. :D
Can we get it to form a compound with Barium? I'd love to be able to order a sample of FooBarium.
It should clearly be called Bukkakium. I'm sure the name will soon be splashed all over the news.
Actually, I believe the name "Becquerelium" is to honour the famed assistant of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew.
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Don't call him a Boron. It's not his fault he's a little slow.
Hentainium
No, actually, Japan shall not call it that. That's what IUPAC's temporary systematic name for it is, as discovering the transuranics is often hotly contested. IUPAC has a Greek and Latin-based naming scheme that generates names for the undiscovered elements. So even though we've never seen a g-block element, and probably won't for at least a decade or two, IUPAC already has temporary names for them. . . well, names beyond eka-plutonium or whatever floats your Russian bigamist boat. Once the existence of an element has been confirmed "beyond a reasonable doubt," then IUPAC decides what to call it officially, based in part on the recommendations of the discover (but they don't always follow the suggestion).
Some authors and publishers include the temporary names and symbols on periodic tables after someone (or multiple someones) announces they've discovered an element and before IUPAC has fully accepted the existence of the element, but this is technically incorrect.
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
A Japanese scientist thought he had discovered technetium in the early 1900s and named it nipponium, but it was actually just an impure sample of rhenium. IUPAC policy states that any name used temporarily or even incorrectly cannot ever be used again, as it would cause confusion with the literature ("Okay, so this paper says nipponium forms an alloy with carbon, iron, and silicon, while this paper says nipponium only alloys with transition metals!").
So unfortunately there will never be a nipponium.
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
Given that the scientist's last name is Morita, I figured they call it Moratorium, although with a name like that it might be a while before he discovers another one.
Better than karatekidium.
My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells by the seashore.
An island of stability has been observed, but so far it looks like "most stable" means half-life of a few tens of seconds instead of sub-seconds.
Also, the density will depend on the chemistry a lot, and not just increase with higher atomic mass in every case. You can look at the density of transuranic elements, and see that elements 95-99 are about 25-50% lighter than 92-94. Might be a while before a 100 kg golfball, since that would be 125 times denser than uranium. Although you can get a 0.9 kg osmium golf ball now, and that would be pretty damn heavy as is.
So far the island of stability theory is holding true (with maybe a little updating on what is the best number of nucleons in a nucleus). It doesn't necessary mean the elements will be stable, just more stable... which so far means half-life of seconds.
... for as long as we've been at war with them, which is always, this week ...
Who is John Cabal?
There will never be an element called MPAAium, since no element (or particle, for that matter) known to man has a half life that comes even close to the effectuve duration of copyright on "Steamboat Willy".
Protons might be close but they'll probably come up short.
RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
hellokittium
Considering how quickly it decays, I suggest Seppukuium.
So unfortunately there will never be a nipponium.
What about Nihonium?
Then why do we not have an East and West North America? The Rockies split North America.