Philosophy
Not a "done deal" yet...merely a suggestion.
The periodic table gained a new element last month. It's currently known as ununbium or simply element 112, but now the scientists who discovered it have proposed a name: copernicium. Sigurd Hofmann and his team at the Center for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Germany chose the name to honour 15th century scientist and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
As the first man to realise that the Earth orbits the sun, Copernicus was vilified by the Catholic Church for removing mankind from the centre of creation. His discovery changed the way we looked at the stars and led to the realisation that the universe is a very, very big place. Star-gazers currently celebrating the International Year of Astronomy will agree that copernicium is a fitting legacy.
Don't update your chemistry posters just yet, though. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry won't approve the new name for another six months to allow the scientific community time to discuss any objections to copernicium.
Some Guardian readers may be less than enthusiastic about the new name. When we appealed for suggestions last month, among the 148 comments on the blogpost not a single one of you mentioned Copernicus, although a few other scientist-honouring names were suggested, including my personal favourite, darwinum.
Elements named after scientists are common, as might be expected. If approved, copernicium will join bohrium (element 107) and meitnerium (element 109), for example, which were also discovered by scientists at the GSI and honour the physicists Niels Bohr and Lise Meitner. Albert Einstein, Alfred Nobel and Enrico Fermi can likewise boast elements of their own, namely einsteinium (99), nobelium (102) and fermium (100).
If copernicium doesn't do it for you, though, don't despair. Ununtrium, ununquadium, ununpentium, ununhexium, ununseptium and ununoctium all have (un)unofficial places in the periodic table, and once confirmed will offer plenty of scope for would-be elemental taxonomists.
Copernicus Center For Interdisciplinary Studies
Heliocentric cosmology...Nicolaus Copernicus' birthday
Periodic Table...#112 is official
Rare book...Copernicus...to be auctioned
Wellesely College buys Copernicus book
- Ununseptium...element #117
"Scientists Confirm The Existence Of Element 117" by Alex Knapp May 3rd, 2014 Forbes The official Periodic Table of the Elements is one step closer to adding element 117 to its ranks. That’s thanks to an international team of scientists that was...
- Proposed Names For The Two New Elements
"Names Proposed for 2 New Elements on Periodic Table" by Kenneth Chang December 1st, 2011 The New York Times Add two names to the periodic table of elements, although you may want to write them in pencil for now. The International Union of Pure and...
- New Elements For The Periodic Table
"Scientists Welcome Two New Elements to the Periodic Table" by Katy Steinmetz June 2011 Time You may have grown up thinking you knew what was what in science, back when Pluto was a planet, the opposite sex had cooties, and the last 10% of every beverage...
- Element #112=copernicium [cp]--maybe
A few months to wait for a definitive name and the debate continues. "Element 112’s Likely To Be Called Copernicium" by Mitch Jacoby July 16th, 2009 Chemical & Engineering News What's in a name? That all depends on who's doing the naming....
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...
Philosophy
Element 112..."copernicium"?
Not a "done deal" yet...merely a suggestion.
"Copernicus nominated for the select club of elemental scientists"
The discoverers of element 112, the newest addition to the periodic table, want it named after the 15th century astronomer who had the audacity to suggest the Earth orbits the sun
by
Jacob Aron
July 17th, 2009
guardian.co.uk
The discoverers of element 112, the newest addition to the periodic table, want it named after the 15th century astronomer who had the audacity to suggest the Earth orbits the sun
by
Jacob Aron
July 17th, 2009
guardian.co.uk
The periodic table gained a new element last month. It's currently known as ununbium or simply element 112, but now the scientists who discovered it have proposed a name: copernicium. Sigurd Hofmann and his team at the Center for Heavy Ion Research (GSI) in Germany chose the name to honour 15th century scientist and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.
As the first man to realise that the Earth orbits the sun, Copernicus was vilified by the Catholic Church for removing mankind from the centre of creation. His discovery changed the way we looked at the stars and led to the realisation that the universe is a very, very big place. Star-gazers currently celebrating the International Year of Astronomy will agree that copernicium is a fitting legacy.
Don't update your chemistry posters just yet, though. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry won't approve the new name for another six months to allow the scientific community time to discuss any objections to copernicium.
Some Guardian readers may be less than enthusiastic about the new name. When we appealed for suggestions last month, among the 148 comments on the blogpost not a single one of you mentioned Copernicus, although a few other scientist-honouring names were suggested, including my personal favourite, darwinum.
Elements named after scientists are common, as might be expected. If approved, copernicium will join bohrium (element 107) and meitnerium (element 109), for example, which were also discovered by scientists at the GSI and honour the physicists Niels Bohr and Lise Meitner. Albert Einstein, Alfred Nobel and Enrico Fermi can likewise boast elements of their own, namely einsteinium (99), nobelium (102) and fermium (100).
If copernicium doesn't do it for you, though, don't despair. Ununtrium, ununquadium, ununpentium, ununhexium, ununseptium and ununoctium all have (un)unofficial places in the periodic table, and once confirmed will offer plenty of scope for would-be elemental taxonomists.
Copernicus Center For Interdisciplinary Studies
Heliocentric cosmology...Nicolaus Copernicus' birthday
Periodic Table...#112 is official
Rare book...Copernicus...to be auctioned
Wellesely College buys Copernicus book
- Ununseptium...element #117
"Scientists Confirm The Existence Of Element 117" by Alex Knapp May 3rd, 2014 Forbes The official Periodic Table of the Elements is one step closer to adding element 117 to its ranks. That’s thanks to an international team of scientists that was...
- Proposed Names For The Two New Elements
"Names Proposed for 2 New Elements on Periodic Table" by Kenneth Chang December 1st, 2011 The New York Times Add two names to the periodic table of elements, although you may want to write them in pencil for now. The International Union of Pure and...
- New Elements For The Periodic Table
"Scientists Welcome Two New Elements to the Periodic Table" by Katy Steinmetz June 2011 Time You may have grown up thinking you knew what was what in science, back when Pluto was a planet, the opposite sex had cooties, and the last 10% of every beverage...
- Element #112=copernicium [cp]--maybe
A few months to wait for a definitive name and the debate continues. "Element 112’s Likely To Be Called Copernicium" by Mitch Jacoby July 16th, 2009 Chemical & Engineering News What's in a name? That all depends on who's doing the naming....
- Periodic Table...#112 Is Official
Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany is the hot bed for discovering and confirming new elements. On November 9th, 1994 the first atom with atomic number 110 was discovered...later confirmed and named in 2003 as Darmstatdium;...