Just
when you thought you'd memorized the periodic table of the elements,
along comes a new one. The atomic weight is 115, and ununpentium is its
temporary name (it just means 115).
The heaviest
element in nature is uranium, which has 92 protons. But heavier
elements-which have more protons in their nucleus-can be created through
nuclear fusion. (Related: Learn how to make an element.)
The
man-made 115 was first created by Russian scientists in Dubna about ten
years ago. This week, chemists at Lund University in Sweden announced
that they had replicated the Russian study at the GSI Helmholtz Center
for Heavy Ion Research in Germany.
Element 115 will join its
neighbors 114 and 116-flerovium and livermorium, respectively-on the
periodic table just as soon as a committee from the International Union
of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) decides on an official name for
115.
Don't think for a minute they will name it by
internet poll. Chemistry professor Paul Hooker talked to National
Geographic News about the process for discovering and confirming this
new element.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment