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Did you know?

Some radioactive isotopes are extremely long-lived; others decay so quickly it is difficult for us to detect them. For example, elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 exist for such short periods of time, proving who has discovered these elements, and who can therefore name them, can be a difficult task.

On December 30, 2015, IUPAC announced the exciting news that 4 new elements had been discovered, signifying the completion of the 7th period of the periodic table. Upon their discovery, the Joint Working Party undertook a rigorous process to ensure that these findings met the published criteria for the discovery of new elements.

After the confirmation of these new elements, the discoverers were invited to propose a name and symbol for the element(s) they detected.

questionmarks

An element may be named after:

  • a mythological concept or character(including an astronomical object)
  • a mineral or similar substance
  • a place or geographical region
  • a property of the element
  • a scientist

In addition, the names of elements typically end with “ium” in groups 1-16, “ine” in group 17 and “on” in group 18.

On June 8, 2016, the proposed names for the four new elements were announced:

  • Element 113: nihonium and symbol Nh, named after the Japanese word for Japan: “Nihon”
  • Element 115: moscovium and symbol Mc, named after Moscow, Russia
  • Element 117: tennessine and symbol Ts, named after Tennessee, U.S.
  • Element 118: oganesson and symbol Og, named after Professor Yuri Oganessian

For these proposed names to be accepted, several additional steps are needed. First, the IUPAC Inorganic Chemistry Division must approve them. Next, a five month public review occurs. Finally, these names are formally approved by the IUPAC Council. After this, these new names can be officially added to published periodic tables.

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