Four new elements have been added to the periodic table – 113, 115, 117 and 118.
These elements, also known as nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson, are currently pending public review. They were discovered by The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and complete the seventh row of the periodic table.
Chemistry applicants may be unfamiliar with these new elements in their current undeclared state, but it is worth noting that the four elements were officially recognised in January of this year. The name will undergo a five month review to allow for potential objections, meaning they could be incorporated into official versions of the table by the end of 2016.
The naming process for elements will be of interest to Linguistics applicants; the IUPAC states that elements can be named after mythological characters, minerals, places, properties of the element or scientists. History and HSPS applicants should note the names of these new elements – nihonium named after Japan, moscovium after Moscow and tennessine after Tennessee. Applicants for these subjects should consider naming protocols and their entrenchment in historical and geographical traditions.
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