Super-Superheavy Elements

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s nine more superheavy elements synthesised in either cold or hot fusion processes have entered the periodic table. Elements with atomic numbers 110–112 were produced in Darmstadt, Germany, whereas most of the other elements owed their discoveries to collaborations of Russian and American scientists. The exception to the German-Russian-American hegemony was element 113 discovered by a team of Japanese scientists and named nihonium after their country. The heaviest of all elements so far, oganesson with Z = 118, is presently the only element named after a still living scientist. Apart from outlining the discovery histories of the very heavy elements the chapter also considers the role played by IUPAC and associated working groups in the formal and final recognition of the new elements. It ends with references to some quite unserious aspects of hypothetical superheavy elements and their often fanciful names.