On air broadcast delivered by Chris KP on Sunday May 4, 2008
Online article written by Michelle Kovacevic
RESEARCHERS HAVE BEEN able to synthesise many new “superheavy” elements (namely element numbers 113, 114, 115, 116 and 118 ) over the last decade due to the development of highly sophisticated particle accelerators.
Unlike the first 92 elements of the periodic table, superheavy elements do not exist in nature and can only be created when scientists accelerate particles to very high speeds (faster than your average drag race) and smash their atomic nuclei together. If the nuclei of the two colliding elements fuse, then a new element is formed.
This has lead to the hypothesis of the previously unchartered “Island of Stability” a term that describes the possibility of elements having magic numbers of protons and neutrons, making their nucleuses stable, strange for elements so high on the periodic table which tend to disappear in the blink of an eye. This means that certain isotopes of some larger elements (with atomic numbers greater than 92) to be more stable than others and hence decay more slowly.
So why should we care? Well, previously synthesised elements, such as Americium (element 95) is used in smoke detectors and radiography so who knows what possible applications these mysterious elements could have. And as Ken Moody, the head researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California said, “Anything more you can learn about the periodic table is exciting. It can tell us why the world is here and what it is made of.”
Scientists have started working on the synthesis of Unbinilum, better known as element 120, the heaviest and most spherical element in the island of stability. In March-April 2007, the synthesis of element 120 was attempted at the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions in Russia however, as yet, no atoms of 120 have been synthesised. Watch this space.
How to name an element….for dummies.
(care of www.chemicalelements.com/sup/sysname.html)
Ever looked at a periodic table and wondered what the heck those crazy element names are at the bottom that don’t seem to belong there? Uum, Uuo, Uuq, Uup ….. these are what we call “systematic element names” i.e. temporary names given to newly (and not yet) synthesised elements.
The chemical naming “government”, IUPAC (International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry) devised and regulates the naming system, based on Greek and Latin roots:
1) Break down the element’s atomic number into individual numbers. For example, element 120 would be separated into 1-2-0.
2) The element’s numbers are replaced by the Latin and Greek naming system i.e.
| Number | Name |
| 0 | Nil |
| 1 | Un |
| 2 | Bi |
| 3 | Tri |
| 4 | Quad |
| 5 | Pent |
| 6 | Hex |
| 7 | Sept |
| 8 | Oct |
| 9 | Enn |
3) All the roots are put together and –ium is added to the end. If bi or tri occur before –ium the I is dropped. If enn occurs before nil, the last n is dropped.
Example: 1-2-0 = un-bi-nil-ium or unbinilium
4) The chemical symbol is the first letter of all the Greek and Latin parts that make up the elements name. Thus the symbol for unbinilium is Ubn.
Tags: atom, chemistry, elements, kovacevic, michelle, superheavy
