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Superheavy elements are the extreme heavy end of the periodic table, produced atom by atom in accelerator experiments rather than mined or stored as ordinary materials. The officially recognized members that complete period 7 are nihonium (113), moscovium (115), tennessine (117) and oganesson (118), all approved by IUPAC in 2016.
Scientists identify these fleeting nuclei from their radioactive decay chains. The predicted “island of stability” could contain longer-lived superheavy isotopes, but no confirmed island or practical stockpile exists.
What makes an element superheavy?
An element is defined by its atomic number: the number of protons in its nucleus. Uranium, atomic number 92, is the heaviest element found in significant natural quantities. Superheavy elements occupy the region beyond uranium, where nuclei contain very large numbers of protons and neutrons and are generally made synthetically.
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The word element identifies the proton count, while an isotope is a particular version of that element with a specified number of neutrons. A laboratory may create only a few atoms of one isotope for a fraction of a second. That is still enough to establish nuclear evidence for the element, but it is not enough to fill a vial or make a visible sample.
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Superheavy-element research is therefore nuclear physics first and chemistry second. Experiments ask whether a nucleus was created, how it decayed, how long it survived and what its daughter nuclei were. Only after those questions are answered can researchers attempt to measure chemical behavior.
The officially recognized superheavy elements
IUPAC approved the names and symbols of four elements in 2016, completing the seventh period of the periodic table. Their official status rests on formal discovery assessments rather than on the existence of a macroscopic sample.
| Atomic number | Name and symbol | Periodic-table position | What is established | Chemistry status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | Nihonium (Nh) | Period 7 | Officially recognized by IUPAC in 2016 | Only extremely small numbers of atoms are available for study; detailed chemistry remains limited |
| 115 | Moscovium (Mc) | Period 7 | Officially recognized by IUPAC in 2016 | Short-lived, atom-at-a-time experiments limit direct chemical measurements |
| 117 | Tennessine (Ts) | Period 7 | Officially recognized by IUPAC in 2016 | Production and decay evidence are much better established than bulk chemical properties |
| 118 | Oganesson (Og) | Period 7 | Officially recognized by IUPAC in 2016 | Chemical behavior is largely inferred or predicted because usable quantities do not exist |
The four names do not mean these are the only superheavy nuclei ever discussed. Unnamed, unconfirmed candidates can appear in experiments, and isotopes of the recognized elements differ in lifetime and decay. “Officially recognized” refers to IUPAC’s completed element list, not to a claim that every possible isotope has been produced.
How a superheavy element is made
The basic method is accelerator-driven nuclear fusion. A beam of one type of nucleus is accelerated and directed at a heavy target. In a rare collision, the projectile and target nuclei can fuse into a heavier compound nucleus. The new nucleus then loses energy and may survive long enough for detectors to record its decay.
- Select a projectile and target. Researchers choose nuclei whose combined proton and neutron counts can reach the desired element. The target must be manufactured, purified and mounted so it can withstand a sustained beam.
- Accelerate the beam. An accelerator gives the projectile nuclei enough energy to approach the positively charged target nucleus. Most incoming particles do not produce the desired fusion event; they pass through, scatter or trigger other reactions.
- Separate and detect candidate products. Specialized separators and detectors distinguish a possible fusion product from the far larger background of beam particles and unrelated reactions. Because production rates are extremely low, an individual detection event matters.
- Follow the decay chain. A candidate superheavy nucleus is identified through a sequence of characteristic radioactive decays. The energies, positions and timing of successive events are compared with the expected daughter nuclei. A linked chain provides stronger evidence than an isolated detector signal.
- Meet discovery standards. Collaboration records, independent analysis and reproducible decay relationships are assessed against formal criteria. IUPAC’s Joint Working Party evaluates the evidence before an element receives official recognition and a permanent name.
This procedure explains why the discovery of a superheavy element is not equivalent to finding a new chemical substance in a flask. The nucleus may exist for a very short time, and the evidence may consist of a handful of correlated detector events.
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The materials problem: why targets are difficult
The target isotope has to be both heavy and available in sufficient purity. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s role in tennessine research illustrates the difficulty: berkelium-249 made at the High Flux Isotope Reactor was required as target material. Producing that isotope, preparing it for an accelerator target and transporting it to the experiment are major parts of the project, not routine laboratory steps.
The recognized element-115 and element-117 discoveries were credited to collaborative work involving the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The collaboration reflects the scale of the task: one facility can produce a rare target, another can provide an accelerator and detectors, and multiple teams can analyze the decay evidence.
How scientists know an atom was really created
A detector cannot simply display a label saying “element 117.” The identity is reconstructed from nuclear behavior. Researchers look for a chain whose starting event has the expected properties and whose later decays lead to known or independently characterized daughter nuclei. The chain’s timing and detector location help show that the events came from one parent nucleus rather than unrelated background radiation.
Formal discovery criteria are important because a claimed element may be represented by very few events. The criteria provide a common standard for deciding whether the data establish a new atomic number. This is also why a laboratory announcement and an official IUPAC recognition are different milestones.
Once the evidence is accepted, the temporary systematic designation can be replaced by a name and chemical symbol. IUPAC’s 2016 approvals for Nh, Mc, Ts and Og completed the named seventh period.
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Why superheavy nuclei are usually short-lived
Every proton carries positive electric charge, so a heavy nucleus contains a strong internal repulsion among many protons. The nuclear force can bind protons and neutrons together, but it acts over a short range. As nuclei become larger, maintaining a configuration that resists radioactive decay becomes increasingly difficult.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe result is a landscape of isotopes with different lifetimes. Some candidate nuclei disappear almost immediately; others persist long enough for a detector system to register a decay sequence. A lifetime is a property of a particular isotope, not a universal value for an element. Saying that an element is “unstable” does not mean every isotope has the same half-life.
Short lifetimes also limit chemistry. A chemical experiment needs time to move atoms through a gas, deposit them on a surface or let them react with another substance. If only a few atoms exist and they decay during the procedure, researchers must design chemistry measurements around single-atom events rather than bulk samples.
What the island of stability means
The island of stability is a nuclear-model prediction. It proposes that certain combinations of proton and neutron numbers beyond the currently familiar region could create superheavy nuclei with substantially longer lifetimes than nearby isotopes. “Island” is a metaphor for a region of relatively greater stability surrounded by more rapidly decaying nuclei.
The idea does not claim that scientists have found a stable superheavy material. No confirmed island has been observed, and the exact location, size and lifetimes of any favorable region remain subjects for experiment and theory. The prediction is useful because it guides choices of beam energy, target isotope and neutron number.
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A longer-lived isotope would improve the opportunity for measurements, but longer-lived does not automatically mean stable, abundant or commercially useful. Even a successful experiment could initially produce only individual atoms, with their existence inferred from decay and detector data.
How much chemistry is known?
Researchers are moving from simply discovering superheavy nuclei toward measuring their chemical properties, but the evidence is sparse. The practical questions are whether an atom interacts with a surface or reagent, how quickly it moves through a transport system and whether its behavior follows the trends expected from its position in the periodic table.
| Comparison question | What researchers can establish | Why the answer is difficult |
|---|---|---|
| Where is the element in the periodic table? | Atomic number and period are fixed once the element is officially recognized | Position does not by itself reveal how relativistic effects alter chemistry at very high nuclear charge |
| How is it synthesized? | An accelerator beam and a selected heavy target are combined in a fusion reaction | Most collisions fail, and suitable target isotopes can be exceptionally difficult to produce |
| What is its decay behavior? | Detector records can establish a characteristic chain and isotope-specific lifetime | Only a small number of events may be available, and each isotope can behave differently |
| What chemistry does it have? | Some experiments can test atom-by-atom interactions or transport | Rapid decay and tiny production rates prevent ordinary bulk measurements |
Periodic-table placement gives a starting hypothesis, not a complete chemical description. The electrons in superheavy atoms are affected by extremely strong nuclear charge and relativistic effects, so their bonding, volatility or reactivity may not follow a simple extrapolation from lighter neighbors. In many cases, predictions are more extensive than direct measurements.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Element 115 and element 118: real, but not ordinary materials
Moscovium (115) and oganesson (118) are real, officially recognized elements. Their reality is established by accepted nuclear evidence, not by the ability to purchase or handle a sample. Experiments create nuclei for identification and decay studies; they do not produce visible quantities suitable for demonstrations, fuel or manufacturing.
Claims that element 115 powers spacecraft or that element 118 is available as a consumer substance go beyond the established evidence. The same distinction applies to dramatic descriptions of “stable” superheavy matter: a predicted longer-lived isotope is not the same thing as a confirmed, stockpiled material.
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Has element 119 been discovered?
No. Element 119 is not among the officially recognized elements and has not been added to the periodic table. Scientists can propose reactions that might create it, but a proposed experiment, a preliminary signal or a theoretical prediction is not a discovery.
A future claim would need a suitable projectile-target combination, an accelerator campaign, detector evidence and a decay chain that meets formal discovery requirements. The experiment would also have to distinguish the candidate from background events and demonstrate enough evidence for independent scrutiny. Until that process is completed and evaluated, element 119 remains a research goal rather than a known element.
What superheavy-element research is for
The primary purpose is fundamental science. These experiments test models of how protons and neutrons bind, how nuclear shell effects influence lifetimes and where the limits of the periodic table may lie. Chemical studies probe whether familiar periodic trends continue when atoms carry very large nuclear charges.
The cited work does not establish a present-day commercial application for superheavy elements. Their scarcity, radioactivity and short lifetimes make ordinary industrial uses impractical with current capabilities. The value lies in improving nuclear theory, refining experimental techniques and determining which nuclei can exist at all.
DOE continues to support experiments that create superheavy elements and measure their nuclear and chemical properties. Those programs combine isotope production, accelerator operation, radiation detection, radiochemistry and theoretical modeling.
How to evaluate a claim about a superheavy element
- Check the atomic number. A statement about an unnamed candidate is not the same as an IUPAC-recognized element.
- Separate element from isotope. Lifetime and decay data apply to a specific isotope, not automatically to every atom of that element.
- Look for decay evidence. Accepted discoveries rely on characteristic linked decay chains and formal criteria, not an unsupported photograph or isolated signal.
- Ask whether the claim is measured or predicted. The island of stability is a hypothesis, while an observed decay chain is experimental evidence.
- Be skeptical of availability claims. Superheavy elements are produced in accelerator experiments in extraordinarily small amounts, not as ordinary commercial samples.
- Distinguish nuclear discovery from chemistry. Confirming an atomic number does not mean that researchers have measured a complete set of chemical properties.
The essential picture
Superheavy elements extend the periodic table beyond uranium through carefully engineered fusion reactions. Nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson are the four officially recognized additions that completed period 7 in 2016. Their identification depends on rare production events and characteristic decay chains, while their chemistry remains difficult because the atoms are scarce and short-lived.
The island of stability is an important guide for deciding what to try next, not a confirmed reservoir of stable matter. Element 119 has not been discovered, and no current evidence supports consumer, spacecraft or other commercial uses for superheavy elements.
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