Wikijunior:The Elements/Ununoctium
< Wikijunior:The Elements
What does it look, feel, taste, or smell like?
Ununoctium doesn't exist in nature on Earth. Three atoms have been made so far by scientists in a laboratory. This isn't enough to see with the naked eye or even an optical microscope so we don't know what it looks like. What they do know is that it is very dangerous and radioactive, and that it is probably a gas at room temperature.
How was it discovered?
Ununoctium was discovered in 2006 by JINR and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, when they fused together californium and calcium, creating an element with an atomic number of 118 and an atomic weight of 294. Because it is so difficult to create ununoctium, the researchers had to shoot 25 million million million calcium atoms at the californium target before it was produced.
Where did its name come from?
Its name is only temporary and it comes from un-, meaning 'one', and oct-, meaning 'eight'. It will most likely be named after a person, for example the person who discovered it or a famous scientist from history.
Did You Know?
- Ununoctium is so unstable that due to radioactive decay half of it will have changed into a different element in less than 1/1000 of a second.
- Ununoctium is sometimes called ekaradon, because it is below radon in the periodic table.
Where is it found?
Ununoctium doesn't occur naturally. If it did, it would be extremely radioactive and so quickly decay almost as soon as it was produced. Instead, it can only be found in laboratories.
What are its uses?
Because ununoctium is so radioactive and extremely difficult to produce, it has no practical uses. The only use it can have is for scientists to research it and improve their theories about atoms and elements.