Japanese and Russian influence on the periodic table as 4 elements get new names

High school chemistry just got tougher with four elements getting new names. 

Previously known as atomic number 113, 115, 117 and 118, the elements will now be called Nihonium (Nh), Moscovium (Mc), Tennessine (Ts) and Oganesson (Og), reported New York Times.

The change in the names was recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on December 30 2015. The elements complete the seventh row of the periodic table. The proposed names are now available for public review and if any one feels strongly about the names, they have till November 8 2016 to object to the proposals.

The proposed names, however, may come as a disappointment to 150,000 heavy-metal music fans who signed a petition to name element 115 after Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister or to the 50,000 Terry Pratchett book lovers, who wanted element 117 to be named “Octarine”.

Nihonium (Nh) was discovered by scientists at the Riken Institute in Japan. They became the first ever from Asia to earn the right to propose an addition to the periodic table, reported NYT. The names on the periodic table are heavy influenced by Europe and America evidenced by elements like Francium, Germanium, Polonium, Europium, Americium, Californium etc. The name Nihonium proposed by the Japanese researchers comes from “Nihon” which is another name for Japan.

A trio of research institutions – the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia; Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and Lawrence National Laboratory in California – were given the right to propose names for elements 115 and 117. Moscovium (Mc) is named for Moscow and Tennessine gets its name from the state of Tennessee. Oganesson (Og) is named after physicist Yuri Oganessian, for his contributions in discovering superheavy elements. If accepted, Oganesson (Og) will only be the second element named for a living person with the first being Seaborgium, named for Glenn T Seaborg.