The 4 Newest Elements & What They Do

Summary

The script discusses the latest updates to the periodic table, including the naming of elements 113 to 118. It explains the difficulty in creating super-heavy elements, the process of using particle accelerators to smash atoms together, and the instability of larger atomic nuclei. The script also touches on the role of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry in approving and naming new elements, and hints at the challenges of creating elements with atomic numbers 119 and above.

Takeaways

• 📚 The periodic table of elements is no longer accurate and requires an update due to the naming of the final four elements on the seventh row.
• 💸 To get the latest information, one might need to purchase a new $700 textbook.
• 🔬 The four new elements have atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118, and were named Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson respectively.
• 🌐 The creation of these elements involved international collaboration and the use of particle accelerators to smash lighter elements together.
• 🔍 The process of creating new elements is challenging, requiring millions of collisions to produce a single atom of a new element.
• ⏳ Super-heavy elements are unstable and decay rapidly, making their detection and evidence collection crucial for their official recognition.
• 📊 Scientists use the radiation released during decay, such as alpha particles, to measure and confirm the creation of new elements.
• 🏆 The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the official entity that approves and names new elements.
• 📝 Naming new elements follows specific rules, allowing scientists to choose names related to myths, minerals, places, properties, or other scientists.
• 🔮 The pursuit of creating element 119 and beyond is the next challenge, but it may be limited by current technology and the need for new methods to stabilize and manipulate larger atoms.

Q & A

What is the significance of the periodic table of elements in chemistry?

The periodic table of elements is a tabular arrangement of chemical elements organized on the basis of their atomic number, electron configurations, and recurring chemical properties. It is a fundamental tool in chemistry that helps in understanding the relationships between elements and predicting their behaviors.

Why do we need to update our chemistry textbooks according to the script?

The script mentions that the periodic table has changed with the naming of the final four elements on the seventh row, which may not be present or named in older textbooks. Therefore, to reflect the current state of scientific knowledge, textbooks need to be updated.

Which four elements were given names in the script?

The four elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 were given names: Nihonium (Nh), Moscovium (Mc), Tennessine (Ts), and Oganesson (Og).

What is the process of creating new super-heavy elements as described in the script?

The process involves using particle accelerators to smash lighter elements together. It can take millions of collisions to create a single atom of a new element, and these atoms are often unstable and decay quickly.

Why are super-heavy elements unstable and prone to decay?

Super-heavy elements are unstable because the forces holding the neutrons and protons in the nucleus together are not strong enough to maintain cohesion over longer distances when there are more particles, leading to decay into smaller nuclei.

How do scientists collect evidence of the creation of new super-heavy elements?

Scientists collect evidence by recording the radiation released as a new element decays. They measure the number of alpha particles emitted and the energy of these particles to infer the size and properties of the original atom.

What is the role of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in naming new elements?

The IUPAC is the official entity that approves the creation of new elements and allows the scientists who made the discovery to propose a name, following specific rules that can include references to myths, minerals, places, properties, or scientists.

What are the names and origins of the four newly named elements as mentioned in the script?

Element 113 is named Nihonium after 'Nihon', the Japanese word for 'Land of the Rising Sun'. Element 115 is Moscovium, honoring Moscow. Element 117 is Tennessine, named for labs in Tennessee. Element 118 is Oganesson, named after Yuri Oganessian.

What challenges do scientists face in creating elements beyond the seventh row of the periodic table?

Scientists face challenges in creating elements beyond the seventh row due to the increasing instability of super-heavy elements and the limitations of current particle accelerators and measurement devices. They need to develop methods to stabilize, manipulate, and collide larger atoms.

What is the next element that scientists are aiming to create according to the script?

The next element scientists are aiming to create is element 119, which is part of the eighth row of the periodic table with atomic numbers 119 and above.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Periodic Table Updates and New Element Discoveries

The video script discusses the need to update chemistry textbooks due to changes in the periodic table of elements. It highlights the recent naming of the last four elements in the seventh row with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118. The script explains the difficulty in creating super-heavy elements, which involves smashing lighter elements together in particle accelerators and the instability of elements with larger atomic numbers. It also describes the process of proving the creation of new elements through the detection of decay and the role of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) in approving and naming new elements. The newly named elements are Nihonium (113), Moscovium (115), Tennessine (117), and Oganesson (118), each named after significant people, places, or properties related to their discovery.

Keywords

💡Periodic Table

The Periodic Table is a tabular arrangement of chemical elements organized on the basis of their atomic number, electron configurations, and recurring chemical properties. In the video, it is mentioned that the periodic table has changed with the naming of the last four elements, emphasizing the dynamic nature of scientific knowledge.

💡Atomic Number

Atomic number is the count of protons in the nucleus of an atom and is used to identify the chemical element. The script discusses elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118, highlighting how new elements are being discovered and added to the periodic table.

💡Super-Heavy Elements

Super-heavy elements are chemical elements with an atomic number greater than that of the element bismuth (83). The video discusses the creation of these elements and the challenges faced in their synthesis, such as instability due to their large atomic size.

💡Particle Accelerators

Particle accelerators are machines that use electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies. The script mentions their use in smashing lighter elements together to create new, super-heavy elements.

💡Unstable Atoms

Unstable atoms are those that have an unstable nucleus and tend to undergo radioactive decay. The video explains that atoms with a larger atomic number than uranium (92) are unstable and decay quickly, which is a challenge in creating and studying super-heavy elements.

💡Alpha Particles

Alpha particles are helium nuclei consisting of two protons and two neutrons. The video describes how scientists measure the radiation released as new elements decay, often in the form of alpha particles, to deduce the size of the original atom.

💡IUPAC

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the authority that validates new chemical elements and approves their names. The script mentions that once there is sufficient evidence of a new element's creation, IUPAC gives its approval.

💡Nihonium

Nihonium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Nh and atomic number 113. Named after Japan, it represents the first element discovered by an Asian country, as detailed in the video.

💡Moscovium

Moscovium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Mc and atomic number 115. The video explains that it was named to honor Moscow and the Russian scientists who first created it.

💡Tennessine

Tennessine is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Ts and atomic number 117. The script mentions it is named after Tennessee, recognizing the labs there that worked on the discovery of super-heavy elements.

💡Oganesson

Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Og and atomic number 118. Named in honor of Yuri Oganessian, it is the heaviest currently recognized element, as discussed in the video.

Highlights

The periodic table of elements is no longer accurate, as new elements have been added.

Four elements on the seventh row of the periodic table with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 were recently named.

Scientists are now aiming to create super-heavy elements with atomic numbers 119 and above.

Creating new elements involves smashing lighter elements together using particle accelerators, which can take millions of collisions to create a single atom.

Elements larger than uranium (atomic number 92) are unstable and decay rapidly.

Scientists measure the decay of super-heavy elements by recording the radiation they emit, often in the form of alpha particles.

Alpha particles are helium nuclei, consisting of two protons and two neutrons, and scientists can use them to calculate the size of the original atom.

Element 113 has been named Nihonium, after the Japanese word for 'Land of the Rising Sun,' marking the first element discovered by an Asian country.

Element 115 has been named Moscovium, in honor of Moscow and the Russian scientists who helped discover it.

Element 117 is now called Tennessine, in recognition of the contributions from labs in Tennessee.

Element 118 has been named Oganesson, after nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian, who played a key role in its discovery.

Creating elements beyond the seventh row of the periodic table may be difficult due to the limitations of current particle accelerators and measurement technology.

The forces holding protons and neutrons together in larger atoms become weaker as atomic numbers increase, making these elements more unstable.

Scientists are investigating how to stabilize and manipulate larger atoms to extend the periodic table further.

The periodic table may continue to grow as scientists develop new techniques for creating and confirming the existence of super-heavy elements.

Transcripts

I’m gonna ask you to go to your bookshelf, and take out your old chemistry textbook.

If you don’t have one of those somewhere, in your life, I feel sorry for you, because

everyone should have at least one Chemistry textbook in their life.

But assuming you do, open it up and take a look at the periodic table of elements. It’s

probably on the inside cover.

See that?

It is no longer accurate.

Totally outdated.

Now, you have to go buy yourself a new $700 textbook because the periodic table of elements

has just changed … again!

Last Wednesday, the final four elements on the seventh row of the periodic table – the

ones with the atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 – were finally given names.

Depending on how old your textbook is, those elements either don’t have names, or aren’t

there at all.

But – hold up – the periodic table isn’t finished yet!

It took years to create these latest elements, and now scientists have their sights set on

creating more new super-heavy elements in row 8, with atomic numbers 119 and above.

But … no one knows how they’re gonna manage to do that.

To create the four latest elements, scientists had to smash lighter elements together using

huge instruments like particle accelerators.

And it can take millions of collisions to create just a single atom of a new element.

But the thing is, once an atomic nucleus reaches a certain size – like anything bigger than

uranium, with an atomic number of 92 – the atom becomes unstable.

That’s because the forces that are holding all the neutrons and protons of the nucleus

together aren’t strong enough to hold them together over longer distances, when there

are more particles.

So bigger elements are also more unstable, and they tend to decay, or break apart into

other atoms with smaller nuclei, in just fractions of a second.

So, in order to prove that they’ve created one of these new, super-heavy elements, scientists

have to collect evidence of this decay.

One way they do this is to record the radiation that’s released as a new element breaks down.

This radiation is often released as a series of alpha particles, which are essentially

helium nuclei, with 2 protons and 2 neutrons.

Since each alpha particle has an atomic mass of 4, scientists can basically measure how

many particles were emitted, and work backward to figure out how big the atom was that released all of them.

Plus, the bigger the nucleus, the more energy there is in each of the emitted alpha particles

– which the researchers can also measure.

After all that, once there’s enough evidence that a new element has been created, the element

gets the stamp of approval of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry – the

official entity that gets to decide these things.

Then the IUPAC lets the scientists who made the discovery pick a name.

And the rules say that they can use any word from a myth, a mineral, a place, a property

of the element, or a scientist.

Kinda like Mad-Libs for chemists.

So let’s start with the first newly named element: element 113, now known as Nihonium.

It’s named after the Japanese word Nihon, which means “Land of the Rising Sun,”

a reference to the country of Japan.

This discovery was the first to be made by an Asian country, and is attributed to the

Japanese research center that used a particle accelerator to bombard a bunch of bismuth

– with atomic number 83 – with a beam of zinc ions – with atomic number 30.

Next up are elements 115 and 117, which were made in collaboration between labs in Dubna,

Russia, and California and Tennessee in the U.S.

Element 115 is now called Moscovium, to honor the city of Moscow and the team of Russian

scientists that first created the element in 2003.

The team smashed atoms of calcium – with atomic number 20 – into a sheet of americium

– with atomic number 95 – and other labs around the world repeated their experiments

over the next decade to confirm its existence.

As for element 117, its proposed name is Tennessine for all the labs in Tennessee that worked

on this and other super-heavy elements.

Tennessine is the most recently discovered element, first created in 2010 by shooting

calcium at another synthetic element – berkelium, with atomic number 97.

And the last new element, 118, will be named Oganesson – to honor Yuri Oganessian, the

nuclear physicist who leads the Russian research team that helped discover several super-heavy

elements, including this one.

Element 118 was first synthesized around 2002, and again around 2005, by bombarding californium

– with atomic number 98 – with calcium.

So, what’s next?

Well, element 119 obviously.

But, obviously, no one has succeeded in creating an atom that big yet!

Some researchers say that creating elements past the seventh row of the periodic table

is gonna be tricky, because we’re reaching the limit of what our particle accelerators

and measurement devices can do.

We’re going to have to learn how to stabilize, manipulate, and collide bigger atoms before

we can figure out how big the periodic table can get.

So, probably don’t toss that old chemistry textbook.

It’s just going to need to be updated someday... probably…

If we keep working hard... being cool science people.

We humans have a lot more to learn.

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