Scientists create 116th element on periodic table; 'possibility' for heaviest element 120 to emerge too

'Data from the experiment will greatly improve the accuracy of existing theoretical calculations, and will greatly advance mankind towards the discovery of elements 119 and 120,' said Hiromitsu Haba who led the research study.

In a bid to discover the heaviest element on earth— element 120 or Unbinilium, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory produced two atoms of element 116 (livermorium), using a titanium particle beam. Element 120 to date is identified as an "hypothetical chemical element," which, once discovered, will be the heaviest on the planet.

Experts at the California-based lab submitted their findings in a paper titled Heaviest element yet within reach after major breakthrough which is published in the Nature journal. The scientists claimed to have used a titanium beam for the first time to make a known superheavy element— 116.

To be noted here, the heaviest element on earth to be made till date is element 118 (oganesson) which was first synthesized in 2002. It must also be noted here that only 118 elements have been discovered in the periodic table and this research is a way to accelerate research that would pave ways to elements 119 and 120.

Terming the findings "truly groundbreaking" Hiromitsu Haba, who leads the Superheavy Element Research Group at RIKEN Nishima Center for Accelerator-based Science in Saitama, Japan said, “The search for the superheavy elements beyond 118, oganesson, is proving to be a great challenge. Data from the experiment will greatly improve the accuracy of existing theoretical calculations, and will greatly advance mankind towards the discovery of elements 119 and 120”.

Lawrence Berkeley Lab announced about the above discovery at the Nuclear Structure 2024 conference. The experts shared that they used a heavy-ion 88-inch Cyclotron facility in the lab to accelerate the titanium beam and fire it at a target made of plutonium.

Jacklyn Gates, a nuclear scientist at the California lab who is also leading the effort said, "This reaction had never been demonstrated before, and it was essential to prove it was possible before embarking on our attempt to make 120. The creation of a new element is an extremely rare feat. It's exciting to be a part of the process and to have a promising path forward."

She explains in the paper: “The titanium beam is really hard to make. Titanium’s melting point is almost 1,700 ºC, more than twice calcium’s. To make a titanium beam, you have to heat it enough to get ions to evaporate off, and you’re putting this a couple inches from things that have to be cooled to liquid-helium temperatures.”

The most recent set of superheavy elements to be discovered, numbers 114 to 118, were all produced by bombarding targets made of actinides (elements from the seventh period) with beams of calcium-48, which has 20 protons and 28 neutrons.

As per Gates, once the experiments begin, the researchers will need 100–200 days of run time bombarding californium with titanium before they produce element 120. In practical terms, that will take two to three years.