Periodic table gets a new element
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8093374.stm
Today german scientists found a new element which is still nameless. The german team is led by german Sigmund Hoffman and is made from a 120-meter zinc laser beam which fuses two nuclei to create a new one. It has now been recognized as an element only after the fourth attempt. Even if scientist before him have successfully created it only today has it been approved by the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry). For now the element is only known as element 112. It will find its place in the Periodic Table after it has been given a name.
I always like to read about new discoveries in science because it feels like technology is expanding all the time, every second of the day. However important an element can be, i think this one is very useless because it only exists for a few milliseconds before it disappears. Why spend millions of dollars to create a new element, in this case 112 because it is nameless, just to see it decay right after you created it? You will not be able to use it for anything because you wont have the time to even move it. Even if the single element is useless, it could be the beginnings of a future one that will exist for a longer time period which can be used in chemistry and and be experimented with. I really like how there is a so called ‘competition’ to see who comes up with the best name for the element, if you win you can take pride in it and the credit wont all go to its creator. I would call this element Bob, possibly because i am not very creative. :)
