Researchers record the momentary existence of Element 118

It may be time to update your periodic table of the elements, because a team of researchers has just reported the laboratory creation of the as-yet-unnamed element 118, the heaviest element on record.

In a joint project between the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from Livermore, Calif., and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research of Dubna, Russia, a team of thirty scientists has created three atoms of the new element. A full report of their findings is published in the Oct. 9, 2006 edition of the journal.

Using an advanced particle accelerator in Dubna, Russia, the newest element was created by shooting a beam of calcium-48 ions into a target of californium 249, an artificial element, fusing the two together.

“I thought it was cool,” said Dr. Ryan DaBell, a professor in the Chemistry Department at BYU-Idaho. “It’s definitely interesting.”

The process of creating a new element is simple in concept, but complex in practice. Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons and electrons, with the weight of an atom being the number of particles in its nucleus. By taking one ultra-heavy atom and smashing other atoms into it, scientists are able to add protons and neutrons to the nucleus, which changes the atomic weight of the atom, and makes it an entirely different element.

Actually doing this requires a combination of advanced equipment, radioactive material and a lot of time and patience. The Livermore-Dubna research team spent two months bombarding their target with billions upon billions of ions only to produce three atoms of the new element, which then only existed for a fraction of a second before being torn apart by the atomic forces at work. In studying just how that happens, the researchers were then able to see that they had, in fact, created a new element.

This is not, however, the first reported discovery of 118. Seven years ago, a team of researchers from Berkley reported the same discovery, only to retract their statement in 2001 when it was discovered that one of the scientists involved had falsified data.

“There might be something we can all learn here about the need of careful research, the process of independent verification and especially the importance of keeping accurate, detailed records of everything you do,” DaBell said. “I try to teach that to my students.”

The Livermore Labs Heavy Element Group has had significant success in such discoveries because they have access to the unique materials and equipment needed to perform the experiments. The Livermore-Dubna research team has discovered four other previously unknown elements since 1999.

Mark Stoyer, a nuclear chemist with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory research team, pointed to the need for advanced equipment, saying, “One of the reasons we did [our research] in Dubna is because they have a very intense beam of calcium 48.”

Having previously discovered elements 113, 114, 115 and 116, this new discovery brings the total of newly found elements to five. The team plans to continue their research, and hopes to find element 120 some time next year.

“It allows people to get a better understanding of the atom,” DaBell said, “and more particularly the parts that make up the atom such as protons and neutrons. It helps us understand how the forces within an atom work.”

Livermore Team leader Ken Moody has said, “The world is made up of about 90 elements. 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.”

Most of the implications wouldn’t be directly obvious to your average everyday citizen, Kendall Peck, chair of BYU-I’s Chemistry Department, said that the creation of this new element will have little effect outside the scientific community.

The element only lasts for around a millisecond after it is created, ruling out real-world applications, he said.

“The general public wouldn’t see an immediate impact from the discovery of this new element,” Peck said. “It really just advances our basic understanding of atoms.”