Three new members join the Periodic Table!

Updated on: Monday, November 07, 2011

Three new elements, including one named after famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, have been added to the Periodic Table.

The General Assembly of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) has approved the names of the new elements 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, the 'Daily Mail' newspaper reported.

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."

Although they have only just been approved to the table, the elements were discovered a long time ago. But names need to be officially given to them by scientific organisations.

Generally, new elements are named after the person who discovered them.

According to Universe Today, Copernicium was created on February 9, 1996, but its original name ununbium didn't get changed until almost two years ago when German scientists proved its existence.

IUPAP accepted the proposed name and symbol for it on February 19, 2010, the 537th anniversary of Copernicus' birth. The Prussian astronomer, who died in 1543, was the first person to suggest that the Earth revolves around the sun.

Three new members join the Periodic Table!

More Education news