Scientists Discover New Element

The periodic table may soon be changing: A team of Russian and American scientists have discovered a new element that The New York Times calls “a missing link among the heaviest bits of atomic matter ever produced.” The element, produced by colliding calcium isotopes with a radioactive element called berkelium, helps to prove scientists’ theory that, as newly created elements become heavier, they’ll also become more stable—meaning they could have a whole host of scientific and practical uses. Before this new element is named and added to the periodic table, it will have to be confirmed elsewhere. “Naming elements is a serious question, in fact,” said one involved scientist. “This takes years.”