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ALBERT GHIORSO
Nuclear scientist Albert Ghiorso
is best known for helping to
discover many new chemical
elements on the periodic table. In 2004, he
was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Radiochemistry Society.
2004
Element 111 Gets a Name
The International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) officially
gives element 111 a name, roentgenium.
The name honors scientist William
Roentgen, discoverer of x-rays. It often
takes years for a new element to get an
official name. The scientific community
must be sure the element has been
produced. For example, roentgenium
reportedly was first made ten years
before it received an official name.
Ghiorso was part of a research team at
the University of California, Berkeley, whose
goal was to expand the number of known elements. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Ghiorso
co-discovered elements 95 (americium)
through 106 (seaborgium). He and his
associates found the radioactive elements 99
(einsteinium) and 100 (fermium) in radioactive
debris from a hydrogen bomb test over the
Pacific Ocean.
RESOURCE CENTER
CLASSZONE.COM
It was proposed in 2000 that the newly
discovered element 118 be named ghiorsium
to honor Ghiorso’s work. However, scientists
have so far been unable to duplicate
the element.
Discover the
research behind
new elements.
Element Safari
1980
2000
APPLICATION
The Place Where Elements Are Made
As of the end of 2005, the famous 88-inch cyclotron
is still in operation at the Lawrence Berkeley
Laboratory in Berkeley, California. In the cyclotron
lighter elements are
shot towards one
another. The hope is
that the nuclei will
stick together, making
a heavier element. The
cyclotron has been the
site for the making of
some of the heaviest
elements. Scientists are
still not sure how many
more elements can be
made. If new elements are made, there’s a good
chance they will be made in California.
Locate the following objects in your
home or in a grocery store: baking
soda, vinegar, cereal flakes, and
antacid tablets. You may examine
other products if you wish. Look at
the labels on the products. Can you
recognize the names of any elements? Make a list of the names you
suspect to be elements. You can use
a dictionary to see if the name is
that of an element.
Writing About Science
The element lawrencium was
named for physicist Ernest O.
Lawrence. Research the life and
accomplishments of Ernest
Lawrence. Write a short report.
Timelines in Science 195
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