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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1999
> June
> June 11, 1999:
Hour One: New Elements / Solid Waste
| Early this week, a team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley Labs in California announced that they believe they have added another two elements to the periodic table. The elements, numbers 116 and 118, were made by bombarding a lead target with krypton atoms fired through a cyclotron accelerator. Three times, an atom of krypton merged with the lead to form a new element heavier than any seen before, with nuclei containing 118 protons and 175 neutrons. Each of those three atoms quickly decayed in a fraction of a second to form elements containing 116 protons, then 114, 112, 110, and 108, before stopping at an atom containing 106 protons. The new elements were created using a procedure that established wisdom held would not work, surprising many atomic physicists. |  | In January, scientists in Russia and at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab announced the creation of element 114, which lasted for 30 seconds before decaying - an extremely long time in the artificial element world. Theory says that perhaps still heavier elements can be created - and that some of those might be even more stable. We'll talk about the recent findings and what they mean for chemistry and physics.
| We'll also talk about garbage - or trash, junk, or solid waste - whatever you'd like to call it. Each person in America throws away several pounds of trash a day. But where does all that waste - millions of tons a year - go? Much of it is still being landfilled. Some is burned, either in standard incinerators or in waste-to-energy plants. And some people are working to try to keep trash out of the waste stream entirely, through innovative recycling and reuse programs. We'll talk about them, and other efforts to handle the nation's waste.
Today's modern alchemy - creating new elements, and turning trash into resources - on this hour of Science Friday. |  |
Listeners respond
Guests:
Walter Loveland
Professor of Chemistry, Oregon State University
Visiting Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Berkeley, California
James E. McCarthy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Congressional Research Service
Washington, DC
Brenda Platt
Director of Materials Recovery Research
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Washington, DC
Bill Wolpin
Editorial Director
Waste Age Magazine
Atlanta, GA
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Waste Age Magazine
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Congressional Research Service reports on solid waste issues
EPA's Office of Solid Waste
Global Recycling Network
Environmental Industry Association Interactive
This segment produced by:
Charles Bergquist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist
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