FOUR New Chemical Elements Discovered in ASIAN Countries

The periodic table got larger after four new elements were officially named and added to the chart, including 'nihonium'—the first ever to be discovered by Japanese scientists.

The team of researchers at Riken institute coined the name from “Nihon,” meaning Japan in Japanese, and gave the superheavy synthetic element the atomic symbol “Nh.”

The team, led by Kyushu University professor Kosuke Morita, secured the naming rights in December after creating the element three times in 2004, 2005 and 2012.

The four elements, known now by their numbers, completed the seventh row of the periodic table when the International Union Of Pure & Applied Chemistry verified their discoveries last December. For many scientists, the addition of these names calls for celebration. This excitement is especially prevalent as nihonium is the first element to be discovered in an Asian country.

Naming the elements after the country where they were discovered is one of the most common naming methods. Polonium is named after Poland, francium is named after France and americium is named after the United States.

A joint team of Russian and US scientists named element 115 moscovium—symbol Mc—after the Russian capital, where much of the relevant research was conducted.

For similar reasons, they also named element 117 tennessine—symbol Ts—after the US state of Tennessee.

The third one they discovered, element 118, was named oganesson—symbol Og—in homage to Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian, in recognition of his "pioneering contributions" in elements research.

North Carolina-based IUPAC said that the names were officially accepted after a 5-month public review period.

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