Summary: Elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 are now recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which means these 4 elements are now official and will be added to the periodic table, completing the 7th period. This will be the table's first update since 2011. Japanese researchers discovered 113, and a U.S.-based Russian-American team discovered 115, 117, and 118. All 4 elements are man-made, not created naturally. The next step is for the researchers to name them.
Analysis: It's a milestone for the chemistry world to complete the 7th period of the periodic table. The Japanese researchers have been trying to prove the existence of element 113 alone for 7 years! These discoveries can be related to U.S. history through Christopher Columbus. He knew of land across the ocean (though he was talking about Asia, not America), but had to prove it's existence, just like how these scientists had to for the 4 new elements. Columbus also didn't really "discover" America because it was there before he set foot on it, just like how the elements were there before the chemists found them. Finally, Columbus discovering America was a major turning point of U.S. history, and these 4 discoveries are a big deal for modern chemistry!
Link: http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/04/world/periodic-table-new-elements/
This is so cool! These discoveries could be studied by future generations.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so cool that we are still researching and finding new things to help improve our world and further our knowledge.
ReplyDelete-Julianne Swaykus 6
This is amazing! These new discoveries can help the development of science in the future.
ReplyDeleteTea Perez
1st period