1. In Search of “Islands of Stability,” Creation of Super Heavy Elements

2. What are “Islands of Stability” and What are “Super Heavy Elements?” Super Heavy Elements are elements with an atomic number greater than 112 and are not known to exist in nature. “Islands of Stability” are elements around 114, 120, and 126 with half lives several orders of magnitude greater (existing seconds to minutes) than other super heavy elements (existing for  s or  s)

3. Recent News in the Super Heavy Element Chemistry A team of scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, US created elements 115, 113, and a new isotope of Db.

4. How was Element 288 115, Ununpentium, Created? Ununpentium (115) was produced by bombarding an Americium ion ( 243 Am) with a beam of heavy Calcium ions ( 48 Ca). These ions amalgamated to produce 288 115.

5. How was Element 113, Ununtrium, and the New Isotope of Dubnium ( 268 Db) Created? After 87(ms) 288 115 emitted an  -particle ( 4 He) to produce 286 113. 286 113 lasted for 1.2(s) before emitting four  -particles ( 4 He) to produce 268 Db  http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/06news/Images/new_elements.mov http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/06news/Images/new_elements.mov

6. What is the Significance of this Discovery? Around 30 years ago nuclear theorists predicted, by the nuclear shell model, the existence of super heavy elements and the existence of “islands of stability.” They theorized that nuclei with certain numbers of protons and neutrons, “magic numbers,” were likely to be especially stable.

7. What is the significance of this discovery? These nuclei containing “magic numbers” of protons and neutrons (114, 120, or 126 protons and 184 neutrons) would have a nuclei arrangement that minimized the repulsive positive forces that result in radio active decay.

8. How Does the Creation of 115, 113, and 268 Db Verify the “Islands of Stability” Theory? Ununtrium and ununpentium lifetimes, 1.2(s) and 87(ms), are orders of magnitude larger that elements surrounding them on the periodic table (existing for  s or  s). The lifetime of 268 Db was approximately an entire day. Previously created isotopes of Db have had lifetimes of only a couple of minutes.

9. What Does this Prove? The lifetime of 268 Db proves that by manipulating the number of neutrons in a nucleus it is possible to manipulate the arrangement of protons and neutrons. Ultimately it is possible to alter the stability of these nuclei and limit radio active decay. Thus proving that “islands of stability” do exist!

10. How will these new elements be utilized? At the moment they have no known practical applications. Their study will allow us to test the theories and limits of nuclear physics. Their study will help to develop a single unified theory that would detail the physical forces that govern all matter.

11. What Will the Knowledge Gained From These New Elements Be Used For? Enhancing the safety and reliability of nation’s nuclear stockpiles and nuclear reactors. Emphasizing the importance of federally supported basic research. Emphasizing the importance of unfettered international scientific collaboration.

12. What Are Some Practical Uses of Other Heavy Elements? Americium: used in smoke detectors Curium: used in neutron radiography Californium: used in neutron interrogation Plutonium: used in nuclear weapons

13. What’s Next For Nuclear Chemist? Creation of new isotopes of heavy and super heavy elements in an attempt to maximize their lifetimes. Creation of super heavy elements with atomic numbers ranging from 118-130.

14. Finally, What’s With the Funny Names? Newly discovered elements are given latin names that directly coordinate with their atomic number. After the elements have been successfully produced by a separate lab the creators may suggest a name. For the sake of conformity any suggestion must end in “-ium.”

15. Acknowledgment of Resources: The Daily Online Californian http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=13977 Physics News Update http://www.aip.org/enews/physnews/2004/672.html Science-AP http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040201/ap_on_sc/n ew_elements_1 NewScientist.com http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994628 ContraCostaTimes.com http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/7862008.htm Nature http://www.nature.com/nsu/040202/040202-4.html PhysicsWeb http://www.physicsweb.org/article/news/8/2/1 MercuryNews.com http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7862069.htm San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/03/MNG9V4NNJ01.DTL Chemical & Engineering News http://pubs.acs.org/cen/today/8206elements113-115.html