Four new elements have been officially added to the Periodic Table

On December 30, four new elements have been officially recognized by the IUPAC. These new elements, with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 were on the table before, but weren’t officially verified. The inclusion of these elements to the table means that the 7th period is finally complete. The elements were on the table before, with the names ununtrium, ununpentium, ununseptium, and ununoctium respectively. These elements were not found in nature; instead, scientist created them by “smashing” two lighter elements together. Unfortunately, these elements are so unstable that they last for mere milliseconds before breaking apart into more stable elements. For example, element 115, discovered in 2003, lasts for only 173 ms.
The Periodic Table was first conceived by a Russian scientist, Dmitri Mendeleev, in 1869. At the time, the table only had 63 elements. Now, almost 147 years later, the table has doubled in size, now containing, 118 elements.

I think that this article was very interesting. Using other elements, scientists were able fabricate new ones! Think about the possibilities. We could create new elements that could last longer than 118 and be useful!

For more information on this story, visit the CNet Site.