New Elements Make the Periodic Table

After over a decade, four elements on the periodic table have officially acquired new names. Elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 will now be called Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson.

Each of the elements were named for the location in which they were discovered or the researchers who helped locate them.

The name of element 113, Nihonium (Nh), comes from the Japanese word Nihon, which means Japan. The element was discovered in and named after the Asian country.

Russian researchers named element 115, Moscovium (Mc) after Moscow where experiments were conducted.

Tennessine (Ts), element 117 was named after the state of Tennessee. The state was recognized for research contributions from multiple universities including the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University.

Element 118, Oganesson (Og) got its name from Yuri Oganessian, a Russian team member and element hunter who helped discover it.

The scientific synthetization of these elements spanned from 2002-2010, and the discoveries were later recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in 2015. Name suggestions were sent to IUPAC this summer and were eventually approved after a five-month waiting period during which the public could ask questions about the elements.

With the massive, highly-reactive elements named, the seventh row of the periodic table is now complete.

Chamberlain Smith is a science intern and a freelance writer based in Athens, Georgia.

 
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