Two Ultraheavy Elements Added to Periodic Table

[n2doc]

By Mark Brown, Wired UK

A committee of international chemists and physicists has officially added two new elements to the periodic table: the ultraweighty elements 114 and 116.

They’re the heaviest members yet of the periodic table, with whopping atomic weights of 289 and 292 atomic mass units respectively. The previous heavyweight winners were copernicium (285) and roentgenium (272).

The two new elements are radioactive and only exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms. Element 116 will quickly decay into 114, and 114 transforms into the slightly lighter copernicium as it sheds its alpha particles.


The discoverers at Dubna, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, in Russia have proposed the name flerovium for 114, after Soviet element-finder Georgy Flyorov, and moscovium for 116, after Russia’s Moscow region.

more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/06/new-heavy-elements/#more-62779

[Arctic Dave]

1. Amazing.

I never thought there would be an element added again unless we went to another galaxy.

[Tesha]

2. What about Administratium?

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

http://ebeltz.net/resume/jir.html

...

The element, called Administrontium by its discoverers at California M and M University, is the heaviest element yet discovered by scientists. Created in their massive confusion reactor, the element has no protons or electrons and an atomic number of zero. However, it has one neutron, 125 assistant neutrons, 75 vice-neutrons and 111 assistant vice-neutrons giving it an atomic mass of 312. The higher level particles are held together by a continuous exchange of meson-like particles called morons, while lower level particles are held together by peons. The absence of electrons precludes covalent or ionic bonding, but Administrontium has a different form of bonding, referred to by some California M and M workers as a sort of "old boy network" or male bonding.

Dr. Inrico Squirmi of the Physics Non-Department said that the discovery of administrontium answers questions long unsolved by physicists such as why certain reactions take immeasurably longer in atoms with high numbers of neutrons. He said it appears that even elemental samples considered pure may contain traces of Administrontium. "Even a little Administrontium is enough to slow down a simple reaction," he said, adding that one reaction which should occur in less than a second required over four days to complete after exposure to Administrontium.

...

Tesha

[Arctic Dave]

3. LOL, I forgot about that one.

[Chemisse]

11. LOL - I've never seen that - funny.

[laconicsax]

4. There've been 10 elements added since 1965.

That includes the two in the OP.

Everything since Curium (#96) has been added since 1945.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Going to another galaxy won't help -- they have to be made artificially. nt

[laconicsax]

6. Or be part of a species' natural decomposition process...

At least according to an episode of Star Trek: Voyager where they discovered a stable superheavy element that turned out to be part of this alien species' natural decomposition process. It wasn't part of their normal body chemistry--their bodies decayed into it! :crazy:

And this wasn't even the most wrong they got science!

[eppur_se_muova]

7. If you meet your antimatter duplicate, don't shake his hand!

:eyes:

[laconicsax]

8. Also, watch out for photonic lifeforms!

You know, 'cause photons interact... :wtf:

[Scuba]

9. Ultraweighty? Rush Limbaugh is made of buttuglium.

[susanr516]

10. Damn, that's funny! nt