Earlier this month researchers at the Flerov Institute of Nuclear Reactions in Russia announced the discovery of Element 118. Temporarily named ‘Ununoctium’ till the finding is verified and confirmed by other researchers, Element 118 is the heaviest element found yet. It was the outcome of a collaborative research effort by a team of experts from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia.This is the latest chapter in the engrossing story of the ongoing search for newer and heavier elements. While researchers associated with this latest discovery have used extremely complicated, and expensive, equipment to isolate these elements for fleeting moments before they disintegrate, this hunt for mysterious new atoms is one that is as old as the Periodic Table of Elements itself. From 1869, when Dimitri Mendeleev first published his proposal about the periodicity of elemental properties, scientists have been on the constant look out for missing pieces and phantom elements. And the journey has been one full of not just brilliant chemistry but one spiked with a fair amount of intrigue and even downright fraud.
The Table Guy
Mendeleev was a colourful character whose genius for chemistry was matched by an eccentric lifestyle and an eclectic array of interests. A one time bigamist Mendeleev introduced the Metric System to Russia, invented smokeless gunpowder, studied protectionist trade and even established standards of Vodka manufacturing. He recommended a nice stiff 40% solution of the Russian staple in water.
But above all the man is remembered, he has a crater on the moon and an element named after him, for his work in establishing the Periodic Table of Elements in a seminal paper in 1869. The concept in itself was not unique. Other scientists like Newlands and Meyer had proposed similar theories of elemental behaviour. What gave Mendeleev’s theories greater credibility and ultimate immortality was his brave attempt at extending his understanding of known elements to making startling but accurate predictions about hitherto undiscovered elements.
The breakthrough emerged when Mendeleev tried to classify elements by their properties. He noticed that when elements were arranged in increasing atomic weights the properties seemed to repeat themselves periodically. When he figured out the periodicity he was able to arrange all known elements according to this sequence. But the sequence was not a complete one. In certain places he found no elements of a suitable weight that exhibited properties for that particular group. What would give Mendeleev enduring fame and a reputation for genius was his conclusion that there should no gaps in the periodic table and that elements would be found that would fit in perfectly into this sequence.
Mendeleev went on to predict elements analogous to silicon, aluminium and boron that were missing in his table. He called them eka-silicon, eka-aluminium and eka-boron. Germanium was discovered in 1886 and proved to be a perfect match for Mendeleev’s eka-silicon. Soon Gallium and Scandium too were isolated thus vindicating Mendeleev’s bold predictions.
The Game is Afoot!
That was the beginning of a frenetic hunt for new elements that continues to this day in high tech laboratories in Europe, the US and Japan. Ununoctium is the latest product of this expensive and highly complex hunt for ever heavier atoms. Of course today elements are no longer discovered but actually synthesized. In the early days there were plenty of elements that existed in rocks and ores in trace amounts waiting for scientists to stumble upon and isolate them. Gallium, Scandium and Germanium were all thus identified through isolation.
Smashing Science
In 1937 was the first time an element was synthesized. Technetium, as it was named, was synthesized by bombarding a sample of Molybdenum with Deuterium nuclei. Technetium is now widely produced as a byproduct of nuclear reactors and is a fairly stable atom, in synthetic element terms, with half-lives ranging from a few hours to several million years depending on isotope structure.
Remarkably Technetium too filled a gap in the table that our old friend Mendeleev had predicted. Some seventy years after his discovery Technetium conveniently slipped into the position between Molybdenum and Ruthenium that Mendeleev had wisely left vacant.
When Mendeleev created his first draft of the table he populated it with less than 70 known elements. Today the periodic table officially holds 117 elements. (Keen readers will note an anomaly. The last discovered element in atomic number 118 and not 117. This is because element 117 is yet to be isolated and observed.)
Synthesis of elements has not changed much since the technetium days. The basic principle still involves smashing together two smaller atoms hoping they stick together forming a larger atom that is, hopefully for the scientists involved, a unique hitherto fore unsynthesized one. For the lucky bombardier the prize is fame, reputation and a rather useful resume point. And if you are really good you could even get an element named after yourself. (Almost every new element is named after a person or place.)
Therefore little surprise that the search for new elements has not been one without its fair share of errors and misdemeanor. Technetium itself was wrongly isolated some half a dozen times before actual discovery. The greatest scandal in the field of elemental chemistry, however, possibly occurred in 2001 with the Victor Ninov affair.
Cheater Cheater Data on Fire
In 1999 a team from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a ubiquitous name in the field of element hunting, declared their discovery of element 118. After smashing together lead and krypton the researchers pored over the data looking for the faint trace of a newby. The data analysis was single-handedly carried out by upcoming ‘element hunter celebrity’ Dr. Victor Ninov. Soon news emerged that 118 had been found.
New elements are assigned temporary names, like Ununoctium, till the finding is verified by agencies other than the discoverer. Ninov’s finding appeared terribly elusive and lab after lab failed to isolate 118. And then Ninov did it again. His data threw up the same result again.
This time Ninov was not so lucky. His data was scrutinized and the Laboratory quickly withdrew their findings. Ninov was disgraced and his results were debunked. Element 118 remained a mystery till the re-discovery ten days ago by the joint team in Russia.
Ninov today works in a lab at the University of the Pacific, a private university in Stockton, California. (The university was used to shoot parts of Raiders of the Lost Ark.)
Unknown elements represent an opportunity for the scientist to push his envelop of knowledge even further. Who knows what lies beyond Element 118? Where is element 117? What fascinating new facet of chemistry lies around the corner that can help mankind? It is this pursuit of the unknown that often fuels relentless experimentation and scientific rigour. But there is also the moment of fame and peer appreciation that comes with discovery and invention. Scientists will continue to be torn between these two forces.
Us simple folk, in the meanwhile, can sit back and wait for 119, 120 and whatever lies beyond. All I care is when they discover that anti-gravity thing I want to try it first.
Also by Hafta
- A walk in the clouds - February 26th, 2007
- Off the beaten path in Toledo - February 26th, 2007
- Lazy French Holiday - January 22nd, 2007
- Mumbai Votes - January 15th, 2007
- Full House Mumbai - December 4th, 2006