Scientists from Sweden Confirm New Element With Atomic Number 115

Mention chemistry and the periodic table instantly comes to mind. Very soon an additional element will make an entry into the table as Swedish scientists have confirmed the existence of a super heavy element that is yet to be named officially.

A team of Swedish scientists from Lund University have found fresh evidence of a previously unknown chemical element . Based on experiments conducted at the GSI research facility in Germany, the scientists have confirmed the existence of the new element with atomic number 115, according to the university press release.

The new finding confirms the previous measurement taken by a group of Russian researchers. Apart from this, the researchers have also gained access to data that offers them a better insight into the structure and properties of the heavy atomic nuclei.

The highly radioactive element has been temporarily named ununpentium (115) since its discovery in 2003. Due to its high unstable condition it exists for not more than a second before decaying into lighter atoms, reports Fox News 

"This was a very successful experiment and is one of the most important in the field in recent years", Dirk Rudolph, Professor at the Division of Nuclear Physics at Lund University said in the news release.

The presence of the new element was confirmed after bombarding a thin film of americium- a radioactive chemical element that has 95 protons with calcium ions that has 20 protons. When both the elements collided they produced short lived atoms of 11 protons. This enabled the researchers to measure the photons that were related to the alpha decay of the new element.

With the help of special detectors the scientists were able to view the particular form of X-ray radiation that element 115 produces as it decays.

A committee of members of the international unions of pure and applied physics and chemistry will review the findings and will decide whether to recommend further experiments before accepting the new element.

The elements next to 115 are man-made elements that were officially named last year- flerovium-114 (Fl) and livermorium- 116 (Lv).

The new finding will be documented in the scientific journal The Physical Review Letters.