NEW YORK – You’ll soon see four new names on the periodic table of the elements, including three that honor Moscow, Japan and Tennessee.
The names are among four recommended Wednesday by an international scientific group. The fourth is named for a Russian scientist.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, which rules on chemical element names, presented its proposal for public review. The names had been submitted by the element discoverers.
The four elements, known now by their numbers, completed the seventh row of the periodic table when the chemistry organization verified their discoveries last December.
Tennessee is the second U.S. state to be recognized with an element; California was the first. Element names can come from places, mythology, names of scientists or traits of the element. Other examples: americium, einsteinium and titanium.
Joining more familiar element names such as hydrogen, carbon and lead are:
moscovium, symbol Mc, for element 115tennessine, symbol Ts, for element 117. oganesson, symbol Og, for element 118. The name honors Russian physicist Yuri Oganessian.nihonium, symbol Nh, for element 113. The element was discovered in Japan, and Nihon is one way to say the country’s name in Japanese. It’s the first element to be discovered in an Asian country.The public comment period will end Nov. 8.
AP reporter Sheila Burke in Nashville contributed to this report.
