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Oganesson (pronounced oh-GANES-sun) is the heaviest known element. It is the last element of the group 18 of the periodic table, which includes the noble gases. The element was discovered in 2002 by a collaboration of scientists at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The name oganesson honors Russian nuclear physicist Yuri Oganessian, who “is recognized for his pioneering contributions to transactinide elements research,” according to IUPAC.
The discovery of oganesson is notable because atomic nuclei of this kind are unstable, meaning that a small amount of the substance can only exist for a fraction of a second before decaying into lighter elements. Because of this, physicists have largely relied on theoretical predictions to investigate its properties.
In the journal Physical Review Letters, researchers report the first experimental look at oganesson’s electron density. It turns out that the nuclei of this massive element are surrounded by relativistic effects that cause its electrons to lose their shell structure and spread across the atom like a diffuse gas. This effect is the reason that oganesson is expected to be resistant to oxidation.
The research also provides insight into the physics of superheavy elements in general. In particular, the oganesson experiment suggests that a new type of charge is present in these elements. The discovery of these charges, called sex quarks, may help to explain why superheavy elements are so stable and have such high atomic numbers.