Element 117 discovered

[swag]

Source: Physics Today

Physics Today: According sources at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, element number 117 has been successfully synthesized. The research has been accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.

There were hints that element 117 was discovered at the recent 31st meeting of PAC for Nuclear Physics.

The research team, Yuri Oganessian of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and associates, were the same group that have discovered other superheavy elements, such as element 114.


Read more: http://blogs.physicstoday.org/newspicks/2010/04/element-117-discovered.html

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Uh, oh!

:tinfoilhat:

[dchill]

2. Will this make my laptop battery...

last longer?
:shrug:

[DCKit]

8. Maybe, but it'll also weigh 90 pounds. n/t

[liberation]

11. ...the question is not how long the battery will last, but what sort of superpowers one gains

when exposed to the fantastic doses of radiation (alpha particles mostly) from these highly radioactive and fast decaying elements.

[booley]

28. I can use my crippling leukemia to fight the forces of evil!

Wait, does terminal cancer even count as a super power?

[TheCentepedeShoes]

33. Upsydasium, maybe? n/t

[dchill]

35. Well, they synthesized that, too...

but it fell up, as usual.

[DemoTex]

41. "Unobtainium" would be more like it.

Know what I mean?

[liberation]

3. Technically it was not discovered... it was synthesized

[swag]

4. Well there's a rule in LBN that you gotta use the headline what god give ya.

[liberation]

9. I hear ya, I wasn't claiming anything wrong with your post. It is just that scientific reporting....

... leaves a lot to be desired. Through no fault of your own.

Having a PhD in the field makes me a bit of a nitpicking bastard ;-)

[roguevalley]

20. snort. that was totally funny

[FatDave]

5. Arguable.

The fact that it's possible to make such an element is a discovery.

[liberation]

10. Science doesn't care about personal opinions

the theory behind these elements is nothing new at all. This is the experimental validation. Hardly a discovery.

Think of it as claiming that the Golden Gate is a "discovery" after it was built. Maybe if you are an alien visiting this planet for the first time it may be a "discovery" but it certainly would not be such for the people involved in its design and construction.

In any case, it is pointless dwelling into possible justifications for an incorrect headline, the rest of the article is where the meat was and I enjoyed reading about it. I think elements 118 and 117 had been spotted earlier, but there was some problems and had to retract the experimental results. So good news for the Berkeley guys.

[FatDave]

26. I would've let it slide, but...

...since there was something about your tone I didn't like, I did some research. Turns out the terminology used when ever a man-made element is synthesized is, in fact, "discovery". I assume this is, like I said above, because what's being discovered is the fact that such an element can exist. That it's even possible to combine protons, neutrons and electrons in such a way is a discovery. And who's to say that this element doesn't occur naturally somewhere? It's a big universe.

But if you'd care to tell me how you're more credible on this topic than Physics Today, please go on.

[Deep13]

6. Jumbonium?

[jgraz]

14. That would be nice, but they're using the lame "Ununseptium" convention

They really need to get back to creative names for these elements. Feynmanium, anyone?

[Deep13]

17. How about "biggassium?" nt

[Canuckistanian]

37. I thought it was lame for Avatar to use "Unobtanium"

It's about time they got back to using great physicist's names again, like Curium or Tellurium.

[jgraz]

40. Uh... Tellurium was named for the Latin word for earth: tellus.

If you're thinking of Edward Teller, self-proclaimed "father of the H-bomb", I can't think of a less-deserving person to have an element named after them.

Wait... yes I can: Palinium.

[Catshrink]

44. No on Teller

I totally agree with that - Oppenheimerium is so much better. Someone upthread suggested Feynmanium -- I really like that one.

[MARALE]

7. Very cool!

I am glad that there was another element synthesized, it had been a little while. this was a joint Russia-USA effort!

[Me.]

12. Pardon Me.

But what exactly is it/does it do?

[slackmaster]

13. It is expected to throw off an alpha particle

Very, very quickly.

[Me.]

15. And What Will THat Do?

If you'd be so kind.

[laconicsax]

16. Well, let's see...

http://tinyurl.com/yhe5tto

Plus there's the diagram in the comment that prompted your question.

[KittyWampus]

18. That was fun. How did you do that?

HaHa, you got asked another question.

[Me.]

29. Thanks Into Infinity

:thumbsup:

[slackmaster]

21. Travel a short distance, then capture a couple of electrons and become a helium atom

It's not going to bring about world peace or anything fancy like that.

[Me.]

31. Thanks

And when will they be getting onto that peace thing? :evilgrin:

[slackmaster]

32. Peace comes after "Harsh sentences for parole violators"

[Jax]

39. That diagram is everywhere on the web.

[struggle4progress]

19. It puts up your name in big lights for fifteen minutes if you discover it, and while

you're getting ready to celebrate it goes off and changes into something more comfortable

[jberryhill]

23. It Allows Physicists To Expense A Trip Somewhere Nice...

...give a 15 minute talk, and then spend three days drunk in a brothel.

[old mark]

27. People I know in the "real" sciences need to do that more often.

Some of these guys are not sure what year it is...although maybe I'm still living in the past, too - they can get the date from their computer, I guess..

I used to party with astronomers who got a bit drunk and made jokes about Avogadro's number.
(And about farting.)

A real riot.

mark

[jberryhill]

36. Mole Problems? Call Avogadro!

Hey Bob, what's nu?

C over lambda!

Good times.

[old mark]

38. See what I mean?

Know any fart jokes?


You party animal!!!!


mark

[Demeter]

30. It Decays

Lasts about as long as a hip-hop song.

[penndragon69]

22. Next stop

Dilithium crystals!

[Rozlee]

24. Question: I was too frazzled by all the spaceman talk. What form is it? Gas, I take it?

[eppur_se_muova]

25. 117? OMG!

http://www.zazzle.com/tulsatees/gifts?cg=196543934808968558

And they're cashing in on it ALREADY!!

[slampoet]

34. Oddly enough the article sez it "...tastes like Cherries,"

[brooklynite]

42. Is it too late for the Texas Board of Education to pull back the Science books for editing?

I know they like to stay on the cutting edge of new developments.

[activa8tr]

46. Cutting edge, 150 years ago!

I bet the Texas science books don't even mention atomic energy, would be in conflict with oil.

[activa8tr]

47. Rachel covered THIS in detail last night.

She's got it all covered.

Fox News, on the other hand, thinks the "discovery" of oil in Alaska is news.

[Homer Wells]

43. OMG!!

They've finally found 'Atmospherium'!!!

[Lionel Mandrake]

45. Here is an article with more details.

You don't have to be a nuclear physicist to understand the following article.

http://physics.aps.org/articles/v3/31

But you do have to be a nuclear physicist to understand the original research paper, which is being published today (April 09, 2010) in Physical Review Letters, volume 104, page 142502.