Scientists Confirm New Chemical Element

Bad news for kids memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements: there’s one more to learn. Scientists in Sweden confirmed on Tuesday the existence of the 115th element, ununpentium—although the name is still up for discussion. If it sounds familiar, it’s because the element was discovered by U.S. and Russian scientists over a decade ago, but it hasn’t been confirmed until now when Swedish scientists were able to detect the “fingerprint” of the element. Ununpentium is short-lived and super-heavy, and it will likely (hopefully) get a new name when it is confirmed by experts from the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics and Chemistry.