Livermorium, Flerovium Newest Names on the Periodic Table

Two new names joined the periodic table this week, with the christening of two elements with names honoring Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions.

According to a LLNL release, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has granted official approval of the addition of Flerovium and Livermorium to the periodic table. The superheavy elements are numbers 114 and 116, respectively, and were added to the table nearly a year ago.

The elements are formed by smashing calcium ions into curium to create what is now known as Livermorium. That substance rapidly decays into what is now called Flerovium, which can also be created by smashing calcium ions into plutonium.

Flerovium was among the superheavy elements synthesized at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research near Moscow, Russia. A lab there was named for renowned physicist Georgiy N. Flerov the year following his death in 1990. He founded the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and is credited with the discovery of spontaneous fission of uranium.

A group of scientists at Livermore –  honored in the new element’s name for the lab’s range of research in nuclear science – worked with Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions scientists on superheavy element synthesis, including that of Livermorium, according to the LLNL release.