Monday, November 7, 2011

Periodic Table Gets Bigger

Three new members join the Periodic Table
The General Assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has approved the names of the new elements - including one which will honour the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.

The elements are numbered 110, 111 and 112 and are called darmstadtium (Ds), roentgenium (Rg) and copernicium (Cn).

The General Assembly, which consists of 60 members from different countries, approved the new names at its meeting at the Institute of Physics (IOP) in London yesterday.

Dr Robert Kirby-Harris, chief executive at IOP and Secretary-General of IUPAP, said: 'The naming of these elements has been agreed in consultation with physicists around the world and we’re delighted to see them now being introduced to the Periodic Table.'

Time for Tom Lehrer to update the old ditty:

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