19-Oct-2006: Element 118.
I like to read the small stories hidden among the ads in the daily newspaper. They are almost invariably more interesting to me than
the blaring headlines and cover stories that are designed to sell the newspaper. Sometimes these little entries, added because they fill an otherwise
empty space, contain more of what I would call "news." News by accident, rather than design.
One such story that caught my eye a few days ago was the announcement of the discovery of Element 188, temporarily named ununoctium. Scientists at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia, manufactured
three such atoms between February and June 2005. (NB: it took this story more than a year to become "news" in the daily newspaper I
subscribe to.)
Many people, on hearing this news, would yawn and think, "How does that affect me?" or "I don't understand all that science stuff." Now I am not a trained
scientist by any means—one compulsory general science course was it for me in university—but I do find such news exciting. For one, it sparks
my imagination as I try to picture these three huge atoms flickering into and out of existence within 0.9 milliseconds. It also sparks awe, as I realize that these
elements could not exist in nature except under very extreme circumstances.
By expanding the periodic table, humans are
reaching further and further back towards the "beginning" (if one can speak of time as having a fixed starting point—which it does not).
I do admit to a nagging fear at the back of my mind that by creating heavier and heavier elements we might initiate another "big bang." I also tell
myself that it is not possible to do so because all energy and matter that exist in our universe was present in "the beginning" (remember e=mc2?).
My fear is like the fear that
the detonation of the first "atomic" bomb would set off a chain reaction, instantly obliterating—at the minimum—our planet.
But, to get back to another point I raised, why is it that so many people, especially in countries that have a half-decent educational system, are so
disinterested? New materials and devices are being invented at an accelerating pace and are altering our world just as quickly. But there seems
to be a perception that it just means more time-saving devices and a possible cure for the common cold. Some, on thinking about where our lives might be
headed, predict disaster. However, it is difficult to separate out genuine concern from those that are sparked by our one of
our instinctive survival techniques: fear of change. (The latter is amply illustrated by the countless doomsayers throughout history.)
Now neither you nor I, nor any other human—including scientists and seers—can predict the future. When I was young "scientists"
said we'd be travelling around in personal rocket-propelled flying vehicles and spending our weekends on the moon long before the beginning of the
21st century. (Don't you hate it when they lie like that?) Even in the 1960's most—if not all—predictions of the use of computers were
assuming larger and larger mainframes, each one controlling an aspect of our lives. Perhaps some day there'd be one super-computer ruling the world.
Look how it's turned out, so far: hundreds of millions of personal computers linked together in a world wide network. The changes have been very
profound. Even in my small circle of my friends and family it has changed how many of us work, play, and interact with each other.
In my 60 years on this planet I have seen enormous change in how we conduct the minute details of our lives. So, to better understand what is happening
it might help to read the scientific stories that the mass media do allow to trickle through, even if it's only a surface skimming of what is going on. You
don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand it or to use your imagination about where it might lead us.