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Rejected elements come in two forms - one more serious than the other.
Subtract 118 from the Periodic Table
In 1999, scientists announced that they had created the heaviest member of the periodic table so far -- element 118, during high-energy impacts inside a particle accelerator in the Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) National Laboratory.
This claim has been retracted. At that time, the group concluded that each fleeting atom of element 118 quickly decayed into other elements, including never-before-seen element 116. ( The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, has since created element 116 directly.)
Pier Oddone, the lab's deputy director is quoted as saying ¨It's tough when an element disappears.¨
Science News, in their report of the retraction, says that there is some question whether 118 exists or not, and that perhaps ¨it would be better to use pencil, rather than ink, to cross out element 118.¨
A Whole Periodic Table of Rejected Elements
A hilarious view of Periodic Table Outtakes by Gerber & Schwartz, this one is lots of fun and pun.
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