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Revisiting one of physics’ most embarrassing cases of scientific misconduct, researchers from Russia and the United States announced Monday that they have created a new super-heavy element, atomic number 118.
Scientists said they smashed together calcium with the man-made element Californium to make an atom with 118 protons in its nucleus. The new element lasted for just 1 millisecond, but it was the heaviest element ever made and the first manmade inert gas–the atomic family that includes helium, neon and radon.
In 1999, scientists said they created element 118, only to withdraw their claims in 2002 amid charges of falsified data.
