Lawrence Livermore scientists discover "superheavy" element

By Lara Moscrip, Bay City News Service

October 16, 2006

Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have discovered a new "superheavy" element, the lab reported today.

Element 118 is expected to be a noble gas that lies right below radon on the periodic table of elements, according to Ken Moody, the Livermore lab's team leader.

"The world is made up of about 90 elements," he said in a statement. "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."

The Livermore lab discovered the existence of elements 113 and 115 in 2004, element 116 in 2001 and element 114 in 1999, according to the lab.

The results of the latest discovery will be published in the October 2006 edition of the journal Physical Review C.

The latest discovery brings the total number of established elements in the periodic table to 117, according to Anne Stark, the lab's public information officer. Scientists have not yet confirmed the existence of an element they would name element 117, according to Stark.

Scientists from the Livermore lab's Chemistry, Materials and Life Sciences Directorate established the existence of element 118 by working in partnership with researchers from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####