A gang of obviously very clever people have discovered a rare new element to stand proudly alongside Hydrogen, Barium and Krypton. Now, it needs a name.
Sigurd Hofmann (one of the few newsworthy people you'll see named "Sigurd") at the Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Germany found a single atom of a super-heavy element. It's all part of an ongoing quest the group started in 1976, and the Centre already found other elements with atomic numbers 107-111.
The researchers now need to come up with a name for the discovery, and they've asked Wired.com readers for help. Actually, they haven't -- but they should because they're not likely to pick a moniker as cool as what you can up with in the comments section below.
To get you started, here a few possibilities with pronunciation and explanation:
- Germanium (Ger-MAIN-ee-um): Germany needs the positive PR. They should take advantage of this opportunity. (NOTE: Apparently, there already is a Germanium. I'm a writer, not a chemist. So, we'll go with Lichtensteiniate (lick-ten-SHTINE-ee-ate).
- Woolite: (WOOL-ite): If the new atom can keep your fine washables clean, this is the perfect name.
- Obamantium: (O-bam-ANT-ee-um): He's everywhere you look nowadays. Can the government buy an element?
- Rushite: (RUSH-ite): It's a super-heavy element, and Rush Limbaugh is fat. It's not the best, but I needed to come up with five.
- Lewinskinium (Lew-in-SKEE-nee-um): It's worth a shot.
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