At last! The "transfermium wars" are over and Element 106 is officially known now and forever as Seaborgium, Sg. The announcement in May, 1996, marks the conclusion of a long and bizzare struggle. On one side of the effort was the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the American Chemical Society. They wanted Glenn Seaborg to receive the honor of having Element 106 named after him. On the other side of the struggle was an IUPAC nomenclature committee which declared in 1994 that Seaborg "had disqualified himself by failing to expire." Well, Dr. Seaborg is still quite alive, and Element 106 bears his name. You can read more about Glenn Seaborg and how his struggle turned out in an article called The Elemental Seaborg.So here is the latest "official" listing of Elements 104-109, including the names, symbols, and estimated atomic weights:
Click here to see an online version of SweetHaven's periodic table that is updated to Element 109 and extended to Element 168.
| These are just the latest stories in the unfolding history of the chemical elements, chemistry, and science in general. You can read more about all the chemical elements and the people and events involved in their history in David L. Heiserman's Exploring the Chemical Elements and Their Compounds. |
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