Top Scientific Breakthroughs of 2009 | Wired Science | Wired.com
‘No. 10 Element 114 Confirmed
In a cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a beam of calcium atoms slammed into a plutonium target, producing a pair of element 114 atoms for the second time in human history. Years earlier, a Russian team made similar claims, but their accomplishment remained in doubt. It turns out that the Russians were right. But their results were somewhat disappointing. Each atom lasted for only tenths of a second. An older generation of scientists had hoped that humanity would someday find a way to make extremely heavy elements that last a long time. That search continues.’
