A titanium projectile, accelerated to nearly the speed of light, hit a californium target. It happened at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where a team of scientists is trying to synthesize element 120. This superheavy, if created, would be the most massive ever produced, and could even add a new row to the periodic table. But the road is fraught with obstacles: instability, biblical timescales, and a global competition that is unforgiving of mistakes.
The Superheavy Challenge: Why is element 120 so important?
Superheavy elements do not exist in natureThey must be created in a laboratory by fusing lighter atomic nuclei. Until now, the most widely used method involved firing a beam of calcium-48, a stable and abundant isotope, at targets of heavy elements like californium. But calcium-48 has a limit: it can only carry up to element 118, oganesson. To go beyond that, something different was needed. That's why titanium-50 came into play.
Titanium 50, with its 22 protons, is less stable than calcium 48, but it offers a crucial advantage: it allows for higher atomic weights. When a beam of titanium ions hits a californium target, the nuclei fuse, creating an element with 120 protons. At least in theory. In practice, the challenge is much more complex: the atoms created are extremely unstable and decay within milliseconds. But if we could reach the island of stability, a theoretical region where some superheavy isotopes could have much longer half-lives, everything would change.
The titanium beam: how does the new technique work?
The process begins by heating titanium 50 to 1.650°C until it vaporizes. The titanium ions are then accelerated in a cyclotron, a type of particle accelerator, and fired at a target of californium 249. The goal is to fuse the nuclei, creating a new element. But it's not easy: in 22 days of experiments, the Berkeley Lab team managed to produce only two atoms of livermorium (element 116). A seemingly modest result, but sufficient to validate the method.
“This reaction has never been demonstrated before,” explains Jacklyn Gates, a nuclear scientist at Berkeley Lab and lead author of the study. published in Physical Review Letters. “It was essential to demonstrate that it was possible before attempting to create element 120. Now we know that the path is feasible.”
The Island of Stability: The Holy Grail of Nuclear Chemistry
The island of stability is a theoretical region of the periodic table where some superheavy isotopes could have much longer half-lives than surrounding elements. This phenomenon is linked to the magic numbers of protons and neutrons, which confer a particular stability to the atomic nucleus. If element 120 were to reach this island, it could open new frontiers in scientific research.
Superheavy elements are notoriously unstable. They decay in fractions of a second, making their properties nearly impossible to study. But theorists have hypothesized the existence of an island of stability, a region where some superheavy isotopes could have much longer half-lives, perhaps even minutes or days. If element 120 were to reach this island, scientists could finally study its chemical and physical properties in detail.
"When we try to create these incredibly rare elements, we're at the absolute limit of human knowledge," says Jennifer Pore, another scientist on the team. "There's no guarantee the physics will work as we expect. But that's precisely what makes this research so exciting."
Global competition: who will get there first?
The race Element 120 isn't just an American challenge. Laboratories in Russia, Germany, China, and Japan are working toward the same goal, each with their own approach. The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia, for example, attempted to synthesize element 120 in 2006, unsuccessfully. Now, with the new titanium technique, the United States could gain the upper hand.
But the competition isn't just a matter of prestige. Each new element discovered adds a piece to the puzzle of matter, helping us better understand how the universe works at the atomic level. And if element 120 were to prove stable, the implications could be revolutionary: from the creation of new materials to the understanding of previously unknown physical phenomena.
The Berkeley Lab Cyclotron
The 88-inch cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is one of the most advanced particle accelerators in the world. Used for the synthesis of superheavy elements, it can accelerate ions to near the speed of light, enabling the nuclear fusion needed to create new elements. It was instrumental in the discovery of numerous elements in the periodic table.
What will happen if (and when) element 120 is created?
Even if the Berkeley Lab team manages to synthesize element 120, it won't be the end of the story. In fact, it will only be the beginning. Scientists will have to study its properties, understand how it behaves, and whether it can be used in practical applications. But the real question is: what lies beyond element 120?
The periodic table, as we know it, may need to be rewritten. Superheavy elements may have properties so different from those of lighter elements that they require a new classification. And who knows, perhaps one day we'll discover that element 120 isn't just a scientific milestone, but also the key to understanding something even greater.
Element 120, a research that goes beyond chemistry
The hunt for element 120 is more than just a scientific challenge. It's a quest that takes us to the frontiers of human knowledge, where physics, chemistry, and engineering merge into a single, ambitious goal. And while the outcome may be fleeting, a few atoms lasting a few moments, the journey itself is what matters. Because, as is often the case in science, the questions are more important than the answers.
And so, while Berkeley Lab's cyclotron hums on and the titanium beam continues to hit its target, the world waits. Not just for element 120, but for everything that comes after. Because, after all, the periodic table isn't just a list of elements: it's a map of the possible. And the possible, sometimes, is much greater than we imagine.
