Hot dog! Now is my chance to have my name immortalized on the Periodic Table. I just have to decide on Tracionium or Purdumion. Well, it's not that easy. But, there are two elements waiting in the wings for approval on their proposed names.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry -- the scientific body that is the keeper of the list of elements -- recently unveiled the proposed names for elements 114 and 116: flerovium (atomic symbol Fl) and livermorium (atomic symbol Lv). And per chemistry union rules, there is a five-month comment period before the names are etched in stone. This comment period is open to the public.
According to a New York Times article, the chemistry union has finicky rules about what is an acceptable name.
“We were thinking from all kinds of angles,” said Mark A. Stoyer, a Livermore physicist who was a member of the discovery team. In the end, they settled on the obvious ones. Livermorium is, of course, named after the laboratory and city where it is located.
I guess my window of opportunity passed. Next time I will know to start campaigning my name choices much earlier in the game.
Traci Purdum
Senior Digital Editor
