7th Row of Periodic Table Now Complete

[bobob]

Throw out your old periodic tables, kids - - science is pushing the boundaries of matter yet again!

"Four new elements have been permanently added to the periodic table, after their discoveries were verified by the global chemistry organization that oversees the table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) last week announced that elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 have met its criteria for discovery, making them the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011. Their addition also completes the seventh row of the periodic table.

All four man-made elements currently have placeholder names, and will be officially named over the next few months. Elements 115, 117, and 118 were discovered by a team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The Russian-American team had also claimed discovery of element 113, currently known as ununtrium, but IUPAC credited a team from the Riken institute in Japan. Element 113 will therefore be the first element to be named by researchers in Asia.

Discovering superheavy elements has proven difficult because they rapidly decay. But research has revealed slightly longer lifetimes for more recent superheavy elements, raising hopes that scientists may eventually discover the so-called "island of stability" — a group of elements that are both superheavy and stable. Kosuke Morita, who led research on element 113 at Riken, said in a statement that his team will now "look to the uncharted territory of element 119 and beyond."

"To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal," Ryoji Noyori, the former president of Riken and Nobel laureate in chemistry, tells The Guardian."​

Official names for the new elements have not been announced yet, but are expected to be ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).

 

[neutrino23]

I'm surprised they were able to make some of those.

Nuclei have a rough structure to them (not as precise as the electronic structure of an atom) and so some nuclei are more stable than others. Element 43, for example, is odd in that it is relatively light but there are no stable isotopes. Just as atoms with filled electron shells (noble gases) are more stable electronically some combinations of neutrons and protons are thought to be more stable. Long, long ago when I was at the university it was thought that an island of stability might exist around atomic number 125 give or take a few.

My naive view of this problem is that it is like assembling a balsa wood raft carrying a load of bricks in the center of a pond. In principle, the raft might be able to carry the bricks but if you first send the raft out to the center then start tossing bricks at it the whole thing falls apart before it can be assembled. A very heavy nucleus might be stable but it could be difficult to figure out how to bring the nucleons together gently enough for it to hold together.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Throw out your old periodic tables, kids - - science is pushing the boundaries of matter yet again!

"Four new elements have been permanently added to the periodic table, after their discoveries were verified by the global chemistry organization that oversees the table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) last week announced that elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 have met its criteria for discovery, making them the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011. Their addition also completes the seventh row of the periodic table.

All four man-made elements currently have placeholder names, and will be officially named over the next few months. Elements 115, 117, and 118 were discovered by a team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The Russian-American team had also claimed discovery of element 113, currently known as ununtrium, but IUPAC credited a team from the Riken institute in Japan. Element 113 will therefore be the first element to be named by researchers in Asia.

Discovering superheavy elements has proven difficult because they rapidly decay. But research has revealed slightly longer lifetimes for more recent superheavy elements, raising hopes that scientists may eventually discover the so-called "island of stability" — a group of elements that are both superheavy and stable. Kosuke Morita, who led research on element 113 at Riken, said in a statement that his team will now "look to the uncharted territory of element 119 and beyond."

"To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal," Ryoji Noyori, the former president of Riken and Nobel laureate in chemistry, tells The Guardian."​

Official names for the new elements have not been announced yet, but are expected to be ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).

Ah, fascinating. This is brilliant stuff to read about.

I have been following this story on the British media, and it is extraordinarily interesting.

Thanks for starting this thread, @bobob and for posting the new appearance of the Periodic Table. Actually, (dusts off ancient spectacles and blows on them) I must confess that I remember what it looked like when it terminated with elements 105, 106, and 107.

I'm surprised they were able to make some of those.


Nuclei have a rough structure to them (not as precise as the electronic structure of an atom) and so some nuclei are more stable than others. Element 43, for example, is odd in that it is relatively light but there are no stable isotopes. Just as atoms with filled electron shells (noble gases) are more stable electronically some combinations of neutrons and protons are thought to be more stable. Long, long ago when I was at the university it was thought that an island of stability might exist around atomic number 125 give or take a few.

My naive view of this problem is that it is like assembling a balsa wood raft carrying a load of bricks in the center of a pond. In principle, the raft might be able to carry the bricks but if you first send the raft out to the center then start tossing bricks at it the whole thing falls apart before it can be assembled. A very heavy nucleus might be stable but it could be difficult to figure out how to bring the nucleons together gently enough for it to hold together.

Extraordinarily interesting post which I greatly enjoyed reading.

 

[weatherwax]

I remember sitting in middle school thinking about how cool it would be to finish out that row. Awesome!

 

[aaronvan]

I can't imagine the bizarre qualities of the stable and superheavy elements. I'd like to hold a chunk of Element 125.

 

[bobob]

Official names for the new elements have not been announced yet, but are expected to be ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).

Oops... I was wrong about the naming protocol. The "unun" names are just placeholders until the final names are decided upon and become official.

 

[OllyW]

Oops... I was wrong about the naming protocol. The "unun" names are just placeholders until the final names are decided upon and become official.

There are calls for one of the elements to be named Lemmium.

 

[bobob]

There are calls for one of the elements to be named Lemmium.

When it's half-life ends, it doesn't just fade away, it goes over a cliff.

 

[vrDrew]

I remember explaining to a buddy of mine - a big science fiction fan - that there wan't any possibility of any mysterious undiscovered "super element" (like Superman's Krypton or the dilithium from the Star Trek universe) being discovered. That mathematically there just weren't any gaps in the periodic chart for new elements with amazing properties of strength or power to exist. He seemed genuinely saddened and disappointed that, just as Einstein took away his time travel and interstellar travel - Mendeleev took away the magic materials he was going to build spaceships and time machines out of.

I know a few chemistry geeks like to fantasize about the "island of stability" in the transuranic part of the chart. But I'm skeptical. If stuff was stable, it would have been created, and we'd have found at least a trace of it by now.

All the same, its an impressive feat that these people have been able to synthesize new elements. Even if its just for a fraction of a second. Definitely not something that happens very often.

 

[dk001]

I wonder how many decades it will take to get students texts updated to the proper info?
Or the "standardized" testing...

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I wonder how many decades it will take to get students texts updated to the proper info?
Or the "standardized" testing...

Until the next edition, I'd imagine.

These days, text books are edited, and re-printed, and revised more readily than they used to be.

 

[dk001]

Until the next edition, I'd imagine.

These days, text books are edited, and re-printed, and revised more readily than they used to be.

True, still I wish there was abetter way. Especially when the teachers insist on using the textbook as "current".
The problem with the reprint is the ability of school districts to continually upgrade. Money.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

True, still I wish there was abetter way. Especially when the teachers insist on using the textbook as "current".
The problem with the reprint is the ability of school districts to continually upgrade. Money.

Well, it used to take years and years before re-prints and new editions became available. Now, the rate of change is a lot faster. Indeed, the constantly changing text books are a serious cost for those parents who had hoped to be able to use the same text books for younger children that the older ones had used.

Having said that, I still remember the stunning passage in Jacob Bronowski's superb book 'The Ascent of Man' where he described how Mendele'ev had come up with the idea of the Periodic table.

 

[960design]

True, still I wish there was abetter way. Especially when the teachers insist on using the textbook as "current".
The problem with the reprint is the ability of school districts to continually upgrade. Money.

There is a better way. Check out CK12.org
Specifically http://www.ck12.org/chemistry/Moder...ails&conceptLevel=at+grade&conceptSource=ck12 for this OP. Scroll down a bit. It's already there.

The problem is changing the system. I'm completely baffled as to why I cannot 'sell' free.

 

[DUCKofD3ATH]

Throw out your old periodic tables, kids - - science is pushing the boundaries of matter yet again!

"Four new elements have been permanently added to the periodic table, after their discoveries were verified by the global chemistry organization that oversees the table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) last week announced that elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 have met its criteria for discovery, making them the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011. Their addition also completes the seventh row of the periodic table.

All four man-made elements currently have placeholder names, and will be officially named over the next few months. Elements 115, 117, and 118 were discovered by a team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The Russian-American team had also claimed discovery of element 113, currently known as ununtrium, but IUPAC credited a team from the Riken institute in Japan. Element 113 will therefore be the first element to be named by researchers in Asia.

Discovering superheavy elements has proven difficult because they rapidly decay. But research has revealed slightly longer lifetimes for more recent superheavy elements, raising hopes that scientists may eventually discover the so-called "island of stability" — a group of elements that are both superheavy and stable. Kosuke Morita, who led research on element 113 at Riken, said in a statement that his team will now "look to the uncharted territory of element 119 and beyond."

"To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal," Ryoji Noyori, the former president of Riken and Nobel laureate in chemistry, tells The Guardian."​

Official names for the new elements have not been announced yet, but are expected to be ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).

Wonderful news! Now we can get started on defining the characteristics that make up 95.1% of the matter & energy in the universe.

 

[dk001]

There is a better way. Check out CK12.org
Specifically http://www.ck12.org/chemistry/Moder...ails&conceptLevel=at+grade&conceptSource=ck12 for this OP. Scroll down a bit. It's already there.

The problem is changing the system. I'm completely baffled as to why I cannot 'sell' free.

It is the system. They don't have the money for frequent changes and they don't allow "free" without contracting it out, getting bids, then... so broken.

 

[bobob]

Are you ready for nihonium, moscovium, tenessine, and oganesson?

New elements may be named for Japan, Moscow, Tennessee

A total of four new names were recommended Wednesday by an international scientific group, and the fourth is named for a Russian scientist. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) makes decisions about new chemical element names. The organization presented these four names today for public response.​

 

[Snoopy4]

Throw out your old periodic tables, kids - - science is pushing the boundaries of matter yet again!

"Four new elements have been permanently added to the periodic table, after their discoveries were verified by the global chemistry organization that oversees the table. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) last week announced that elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 have met its criteria for discovery, making them the first elements to be added to the periodic table since 2011. Their addition also completes the seventh row of the periodic table.

All four man-made elements currently have placeholder names, and will be officially named over the next few months. Elements 115, 117, and 118 were discovered by a team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The Russian-American team had also claimed discovery of element 113, currently known as ununtrium, but IUPAC credited a team from the Riken institute in Japan. Element 113 will therefore be the first element to be named by researchers in Asia.

Discovering superheavy elements has proven difficult because they rapidly decay. But research has revealed slightly longer lifetimes for more recent superheavy elements, raising hopes that scientists may eventually discover the so-called "island of stability" — a group of elements that are both superheavy and stable. Kosuke Morita, who led research on element 113 at Riken, said in a statement that his team will now "look to the uncharted territory of element 119 and beyond."

"To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal," Ryoji Noyori, the former president of Riken and Nobel laureate in chemistry, tells The Guardian."​

Official names for the new elements have not been announced yet, but are expected to be ununtrium, (Uut or element 113), ununpentium (Uup, element 115), ununseptium (Uus, element 117), and ununoctium (Uuo, element 118).

Whew. Thought it was something I needed to worry about.