Chemical element 114: A first at GSI
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 - 06:40
in Physics & Chemistry
At GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung, an international team of scientists succeeded in the observation of the chemical element 114, one of the heaviest elements created until now. The production of element 114 is very difficult and requires dedicated particle accelerators. So far, this feat was achieved at only two other research centres, in the USA and Russia. In the experiment at GSI, scientists employed the innovative new setup TASCA (TransActinide Separator and Chemistry Apparatus), which was developed in the past few years. The aim of future experiments with this new setup is to advance to yet heavier elements and possibly to discover new elements beyond element 118...