Two new elements have been officially added to the periodic table after a three-year review by the governing bodies of chemistry and physics.
Still unnamed, the ultra-heavy elements with atomic numbers 114 and 116 have been given the temporary titles ununquadium and ununhexium.
Both elements were created in a particle accelerator at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, near Moscow, in collaboration with the Lawrence Livermore national laboratory in California.
Element 114 was created by bombarding a plutonium-244 target with calcium-48 atoms. The nucleus of element 114 is believed to consist of 114 protons and 184 neutrons. Unlike other manufactured heavy elements, element 114 is relatively long-lived, surviving for 30 seconds—as opposed to mere microseconds—before decaying.
Element 116 was created from the fusion of calcium-48 with curium-248.
Scientists also believe they’ve found the elements representing elements 113, 115, and 118 in the periodic table. But governing bodies the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) say those haven’t yet reach the criteria necessary for acceptance into the periodic table.
FilesFukushima Daiichi parameters as of 3 July by JANTI Reactor-by-reactor Fukushima Daiichi restoration progress summary as of 4 July, from JAIF
