There's excitement in the Berkeley nuclear physics labs. A team of researchers is about to add a new piece to the periodic table1, that system of cataloging the elements that we all studied in school. But this time it is not a simple addition to the periodic table: element 120 is so massive that it will require the creation of an entire new line. A challenge that could rewrite the books of chemistry.
The challenge of super elements in the periodic table
The current periodic table hosts 118 items, from hydrogen with a single proton tooganesson, introduced on December 30, 2015, which contains at least 194 subatomic particles in its nucleus. This classification system, fundamental to modern chemistry, is about to face a major turning point: the addition of an entire new row to accommodate even heavier elements.
The research, published in the journal Physical Review Letters (I link it to you here), shows a promising new approach. Dr. Jacklyn Gates, nuclear scientist of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, led the team to this groundbreaking discovery. Their method? Bombard plutonium isotopes with vaporized titanium ions.
But it's not just element 120 that is in the sights of researchers. There's also theelement 119, temporarily called ununennium2, which is waiting to be synthesized. Both of these elements are so massive that they require a complete restructuring of the periodic table as we know it.
A new element that requires patience
The creation process is incredibly complex and requires monumental patience. In the Berkeley lab, it took over 22 days of continuous bombardment to create just two atoms of livermorium.3 (element 116). And for element 120? According to Reiner Kruecken, another scientist on the team, could take ten times longer.
Il cyclotron 88-inch beam at Berkeley Lab works tirelessly, firing titanium ions at isotopes of californium. It's like trying to hit a moving microscopic target, but with potentially revolutionary consequences for science. The challenge is enormous, but the possibility of success has never been more real. As he put it Kruecken: “It’s not easy, but it seems doable now.”
In Search of the Island of Stability
When we try to create these incredibly rare elements, we are at the absolute limit of human knowledge and understanding, and there is no guarantee that the physics will work as we expect.
These words of Jennifer Pore, a nuclear scientist at Berkeley Lab, perfectly sums up the excitement and uncertainty of this research.
Superheavy elements tend to decay rapidly after their formation. However, researchers hypothesize the existence of an “island of stability”: a zone in which these elements, once they reach a certain size, could remain intact for longer. To do what?
“Expanded” Periodic Table: Implications for the Future of Chemistry
The creation of element 120 is not just a scientific achievement: it could open the door to a new era in the understanding of matter. If this element were to actually reach the “island of stability,” we could study entirely new and unexplored chemical properties.
Research on superheavy elements is already revolutionizing our understanding of the fundamental laws of nuclear physics. Each new element discovered adds a piece to the puzzle of matter, helping us better understand how the universe works at the atomic level.
An unprecedented technological challenge
Il Berkeley Lab is no stranger to these feats. The lab has a long history of discovering new elements, but this time the challenge is particularly ambitious. The technology needed to create element 120 pushes the limits of our current capabilities.
The cyclotron used in these experiments is a marvel of modern engineering, capable of accelerating particles to incredible speeds. But even with this cutting-edge technology, creating a new element remains a feat at the limit of what is possible. Patience and perseverance are the keys to this quest. As with many great scientific discoveries, success may be just around the corner, or it may take years of trying. But one thing is certain: we are closer than ever to rewriting the periodic table.
