Scientists close to unique feat of creating heaviest element ever known to humankind

The wonders of science never cease to surprise. Now it has emerged that physicists are one step closer to creating the heaviest element ever known to humankind. The creation of the element has been made possible due to a recent scientific breakthrough at an American university.

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Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) succeeded in producing two atoms of livermorium, element 116, using a titanium particle beam. This is the first crucial step towards synthesising the elusive element 120.

The discovery was announced at the Nuclear Structure 2024 conference. The discovery has been made by the Berkeley Lab, which has discovered 16 of the known 118 elements.

How did the scientists produce livermonium?

The experiment was performed using their heavy-ion accelerator, the 88-inch Cyclotron. The results, detailed in an upcoming paper on arXiv to be submitted to Physical Review Letters, point out that it is a key discovery in the search for element 120.

"This reaction had never been demonstrated before, and it was essential to prove it was possible before embarking on our attempt to make 120," said Jacklyn Gates, a nuclear scientist at Berkeley Lab leading the effort. "The creation of a new element is an extremely rare feat. It's exciting to be a part of the process and to have a promising path forward."

The potential creation of an atom of the element 120 would be a unique feat of an exceptional kind. However, the successful creation of livermorium has already suggested that with continued research, this goal is within reach.

"We needed for nature to be kind, and nature was kind," said Reiner Kruecken, director of Berkeley Lab's Nuclear Science Division. "We think it will take about 10 times longer to make 120 than 116. It's not easy, but it seems feasible now."

(With inputs from agencies)