A group of scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California has recently made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of nuclear science. They have successfully created livermorium, also known as element 116, using a titanium particle beam for the very first time. This achievement brings scientists one step closer to the island of stability, a theoretical point where superheavy elements could be more stable and easier to study.
Reiner Kruecken, the director of nuclear science at Berkeley Lab, expressed his excitement about the discovery, stating that it was necessary for nature to be kind, and indeed it was. The team believes that creating element 120, which is next on their agenda, will be about ten times more challenging than producing element 116. Despite the difficulties, they are optimistic about the feasibility of the task.
The team’s findings were presented at the Nuclear Structure 2024 conference and will soon be published in the preprint repository arXiv and submitted to Physical Review Letters. The researchers used a beam of titanium-50 to create livermorium, marking it as the heaviest element ever produced at Berkeley Lab. This method of using titanium in a beam is a novel approach, as previous elements were created using a calcium-48 beam.
Jacklyn Gates, a nuclear scientist at Berkeley Lab, led the recent effort and expressed high confidence in the results, stating that the chances of it being a statistical fluke are extremely low. The process involved heating up titanium until it vaporized, bombarding it with microwaves to remove electrons, and then accelerating the ions in Berkeley Lab’s 88-Inch Cyclotron. The titanium ions were directed at a plutonium target, resulting in the creation of two livermorium atoms over 22 days.
Looking ahead, the team is now setting their sights on the hunt for element 120, which would be the heaviest atom ever created. Element 120 is part of the island of stability, a group of superheavy elements that are predicted to have longer lifespans. The team plans to start this endeavor in 2025, and if successful, it could take several years to produce the element.
Overall, this discovery represents a significant advancement in the field of nuclear science. By pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and understanding, the researchers at Berkeley Lab are paving the way for new discoveries in the world of superheavy elements.
