Chemistry’ s highest gatekeeper, IUPAC has finally given names to the recently discovered elements with mass numbers 113, 115, 117, 118. Please welcome Nihonium, Moscovium, Tennessine and Oganesson to both periodic table and syllabus.
New elements were synthesized between 2002 and 2010, but it wasn’ t until December of 2015 that IUPAC officially recognized the discoveries. Then in June 2016, the scientists who discovered them sent IUPAC their suggested names for their discoveries. Element with mass number 113 got named Nihonium( Nh) after Japanese word Nihon, meaning Japan. The next discovered element with mass number 115 got named Moscow( Mc), and element 117, symbol Ts, after Tennessee. The last discovery of element with mass number 118 was named Oganesson( OG), after Yuri Oganessian, a prolific element hunter by Russian researchers. With this, we bid farewell to the periodic table’ s seventh row placeholders. Good bye ununtrium. Adios ununpentium. Sayonara ununseptium. Arrivederci ununoctium.