Officials from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)have confirmed the discovery of elements 113, 115, 117, and 118, announcing that there is now enough evidence to give them permanent places on the periodic table, which means they’ll also need new, official names.
You won’t find these four elements in nature – they are synthetic elements that can only be produced in the lab, and because they decay in a matter of seconds, their existence has been extremely difficult to confirm. Until now, elements 113, 115, 117, and 118 had temporary names and positions on the seventh row of the periodic table because scientists have struggled to create them more than once.
Until now, the element (113) been known by the temporary name, ununtrium, and temporary symbol Uut. The three remaining elements, 115, 117, and 118 – known temporarily as ununpentium (Uup), ununseptium (Uus), and ununoctium (Uuo), respectively – will also get new names.
The IUPAC has announced that a team of US and Russian researchers have fulfilled the criteria for proving the existence of the remaining three elements, 115, 117, and 118, and will be invited to propose permanent names and symbols. They have been temporarily known as ununpentium (Uup), ununseptium (Uus), and ununoctium (Uuo), respectively.
