2 'superheavy' elements hint at unknown frontiers (periodic table 113&115)

[Wonk]

A team of Russian and American scientists is reporting today that it has created two new chemical elements, called superheavies because of their enormous atomic mass. The discoveries fill a gap at the farthest edge of the periodic table and hint strongly at a weird landscape of undiscovered elements beyond.

The team, made up of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, is disclosing its findings in a paper being published in Physical Review C, a leading chemistry journal. The paper was reviewed by scientific peers outside the research group before publication.

"Two new elements have been produced," said Walt Loveland, an Oregon State University nuclear chemist familiar with the research. "It's just incredibly exciting. It seems to open up the possibility of synthesizing more elements beyond this."

(snip)

Scientists generally do not give permanent names to elements until the discoveries have been confirmed by another laboratory. By an international convention based on the numbers, element 113 will be given the temporary name Ununtrium (abbreviated Uut for the periodic table) and element 115 will be designated Ununpentium (Uup).

more...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001848536_chemical01.html

http://news.google.com/news?q=superheavy

LBN thread here