A Quote
∞ posted 1 year ago
IN THE next few weeks, a new name will appear in the periodic table when the element with atomic number 112 receives a new name - sealing its place in the family of chemical elements. Known till now by the provisional name ununbium, element 112 will be named by its discoverers, a group led by Sigurd Hofmann at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany. The naming of the new element will be the culmination of a long, fraught journey involving fierce competition, dashed hopes, clever detective work and even a brush with scientific misconduct. With a nucleus containing 112 protons - 20 more than uranium, the heaviest of the naturally occurring elements - it will be the weightiest atom whose existence has been confirmed so far. “The aim is to find the end of the periodic table,” says Hofmann.
Element 112 joins the periodic table
