as the super heavy element 117. You might want to sit down — it's time for a science

lesson.

"It's really exciting because it's the generation of new matter. It's almost like a chill goes

up your spine, it's like wow, something new, something really exciting. It's almost akin

to a Nobel Prize." (Via YouTube / Periodic Videos)

Element 117 is synthetic and was first created in small amounts back in 2010. A little background

— any element with an atomic number higher than uranium's 92 is unstable. Those higher

elements undergo a decay process, unlike those that naturally occur. (Via Wikimedia Commons

/ Armtuk)

In order to create element 117, researchers have to use accelerator technologies to cause

specific atoms to fuse together.

​"Calcium ions are accelerated to high velocity toward the target of Berkelium atoms... only

one of billions fuse with target to create element 117." (Via Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory)

And that is how the super heavy element is created. But why should we care about the

elusive 117?

To put it plainly, one researcher said, "The successful experiments on element 117 are

an important step on the path to the production and detection of elements situated on the

'island of stability' of super-heavy elements." (Via E Science News)

As a writer for LiveScience puts it, "If such an 'island' exists, the elements in this theoretical

region of the periodic table could be extremely long-lived — capable of existing for longer

than nanoseconds — which scientists could then develop for untold practical uses."

So basically, at this point, the implications from the discovery of 117 are endless. Its

status as an element will soon be decided by a committee from the International Union

of Pure and Applied Chemistry.