Ununtrium, the 113th (synthetic) element on the periodic table

Ununtrium is a man-made element so unstable and radioactive that only tiny amounts of it could be observed and created. Like Plutonium, Ununtrium emits deadly alpha rays as it decays, a radiation much more harmful than gamma and beta rays. Little is yet known about its properties and applications, but it is likely that Ununtrium could only be used in the nuclear power or weapons industries. In both cases, it is inevitable to remember the Fukushima Plutonium nuclear power plant that failed after a 9-scale earthquake in 2011 (even today a 12-mile containment zone exists) and the Nagasaki implosion-type fission Plutonium bomb that exploded at the WWII in 1945 (200,000 deaths).

Even though Japan has these experiences, Ununtrium is officially recognized by Japanese researchers in the Riken Nishina Centre for Accelerator-Based Science. This begs the question why these elements are being made, especially when Ununtrium is more destructive than Plutonium. One explanation could be the thirst for search and desire to find the “Islands of Stability”, i.e.; the elements that belonging to this kind of heavy elements are extraordinarily and unexpectedly stable, unlike the rest which are very unstable. What is your opinion about this kind of research?

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