The BBC have just reported the very exciting news that scientists in the US (update – sorry, actually it was in Germany – thanks Dr Bob!) have discovered a new element. I thought it might be fun to start a campaign for it to be called Kryptonite. If you like his idea, leave a comment pleading your support or come up with a better name!
Richard Wiseman
Quirky mind stuff
love love love it. count me in!
yes. sooooooooooooooo cool. mike.
I’m all for it !!
Super! Count me in
That’s just a great idea!! I’m in!!
Suggest “Corruptonium” to fit in with the current political climate
Signed!
Sounds awesome!
Why Kryptonite? I understand the reference (duh) but I don’t see the point.
Why not, sounds cool
Finally fantasy meets meets reality. We’r gonna have a element tht scares superman.
Bleh…Kryptonite sounds like it is already in the periodic table. Boring.
Yeah why not… and while we’re at it, who do I talk to to name element 115 Elerium?
I support this!
Definitely count me in! Sounds fantastic!
Awesome! Is it green?
Why not? Kryptonite it is.
Put some more fun into science!
Yay! I totally agree.
Kryptonite? Really? I think it’s a terrible idea. Here’s why not: We already have Krypton, and the suffix -ite would imply that it is a mineral, which it is not.
Sorry to be critical, Richard, but I think a much more creative name could be found.
I agree.
I mean that I agree with nullability, not voting for Kryptonite, sorry.
I agree too, Kryptonite just doesn’t make sense.
Yes this is what I was going to say – we already have Krypton.
I’m sure we could some up with something much better.
yes, i agree too… sorry to be a chorus of dissent, it would just be too confusing!
Yeah, we already have Krypton (a noble gas) which is cool enough.
Also join the chorus of dissent. -ite is not for elements, and it would create confusion with teh existing element Krypton.
I definitely want to be a part of making Kryptonite a reality.
Do it!!
Cool. I’ll go for it.
Yeah! So should be called kryptonite!
Yep. Kryptonite. count me in.
Sorry Richard,
I think this is too frivolous for words …
Might as well choose Marmite. Stuff, Yumium, Volkswagen or Porcine.
Wikipedia says
“The term kryptonite instead implies a meteorite from the planet Krypton, as in the Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode “The Green, Green Glow of Home”, where it is given as “period element 126″, which in reality corresponds to unbihexium/eka-plutonium, the most stable of the elements in the so-called island of stability.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptonite
So not only is it a weak name for an element, it apparently also runs counter to the Superman stories.
Do we REALLY want to blur the differences between fact and fiction like this? I really think it’s more silly than quirky.
I’d rather see the quietly momentous momentous naming of a new element follow the traditions of honouring a significant scientist or scientific institution/location. I rather like ‘Feynmanium’.
We could consider political nominations … perhaps skipping lightly past the all too reasonable-sounding Blairium and stirring things up with discussing the merits of Aungsansuukyium.
Agree with this too. There are many great scientists who could be honoured.
nice name
Sounds good to me.
I’m well up for it!
Boo to all you nay-sayers!
I’ve got to disagree with this. We already have krypton, so there’s no need to confuse us further with kryptonite. Something like teslium, to honor Nikola Tesla, would be better.
How about Sagantium?
I’m sorry, but this is a completely stupid idea that is utterly degrading to science. And to think I nearly bought a ticket for TAM London…
It’s an amusing idea but not sure if those in charge will buy it.
OK, so it’s super heavy, does it have any other qualities which might make it similar to Kryptonite?
Perfect, just perfect.
We already identify the mineral Jadarite as “Kryptonite”.
Yes! I knew I’d something like that somewhere … thanks J0eg0d
And another thing …
Richard you say “The BBC have just reported the very exciting news that scientists in the US have discovered a new element.” (You don’t post the page reference here but it’s on your tweet)
At http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8093374.stm
It says pretty clearly
“More than a decade after experiments first produced a single atom of the element, a team of German scientists has been credited with its discovery.”
A team in Germany … not America made the discovery, according to the ref you gave on Twitter and on http://www.webelements.com/ununbium/ (webelements is my favourite interactive periodic table).
No mention is made of an American team except in passing as ‘friendly competition’.
Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ununbium reports that the IUPAC Joint Working Party officially recognised the Hoffman (German) group as discoverers ‘based on recent confirmation of the decay properties of daughter nuclei as well as the confirmatory experiments at RIKEN’ RIKEN is a Japanese (not American) group.
Where did you get the ‘American’ reference from Richard? From the references I’ve given I see no major input from America.
DrBob
It should be kryptonium, in order to fit in with the other elements.
Funny idea, but I wouldn’t support it. I propose dilithium, or perhaps Roddenberrium.
I vote for Skeptonium.
count me in!
I believe there was an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which it had a fake futuristic periodic table in which “Daffy-Duckium” appeared. I’d like to see that, personally.
YES!!! Kryptonite FTW!
Atheisium! Gotta counter that damned god particle. ;P
I love the idea of Kryptonite. Some of the naysayers above are clear proof that science really needs to lighten up.
I think a great name would be Alexium Prycinium.
Come on, how awesome does that sound?
Kryptonite would be awesome and I’d support it but after Reading some of these posts, I agree that honouring some like Sagan would also be cool. Don’t like not being able to make up my mind.
The suggestion, no matter how frivolous, would never be taken up anyway…
The use of the -ite implies an Oxyanion (a chemical compound of an element), which, in this case would be the element Krypton. The element Krypton exists – (Kr, atomic number 36).
Sorry to rain on your parade!
C.
But can we still call it Alexium Prycinium?
Kryptonite is a bad idea. I don’t like it for all the reasons others gave earlier. If it were a mineral that could be proved to make superman weaker then I would be all for it. It is not and it cannot. Therefore, rather give it another name.
Kryptonite will have its glory when new element will be discovered or you never know we might have meteorite shower
plus I think it should be noted that no actual periodic elements end in ‘-ite’. 
Definitely. I’m on board.
I’m afraid I agree with the arguments against Kryptonite. However, I have always been irked by the fact that we have elements beginning with every letter except J and Q.
Lots of mythical figures are already represented, so how about Jovium? Or, we already have Curium, so why not Joliotium?
Q I’m hunting about for. Quinnium after Helen Quinn, particle physicist?
Is this an experiment to see how many of us will blindly voice approval for a bad idea? Krypton is an element, and -ite would indicate a mineral. I think the better idea is to follow the convention of naming transuranium elements after research centers or scientists. I think Saganium (Sa) would be a fantastic name for Z=112.
I couldn’t agree more. Kryptonite as name for E112 is ridiculous.
I had the same thought about the ‘social experiment’ idea that mandydax had when I woke up this morning. Then I refelected on how that would make me feel – to be part of an experiment without being told I was part of it. One for my ‘human sciences’ students to discuss in class I think.
Yes, good name …as a Sarcastic statement!
I’m with the naysayers, mainly because we’ve already got Krypton. I agree with the people who voted for naming it after Sagan.
Sorry, that idea is kinda dumb. But we could call it the Jen element. I’ve always wanted an element named after me (not really, but it would be cool).
If it was discovered by German scientists, then how about ‘Teutonium (Tt)’?
Dr Bob convinces me: I vote against kryptonite. Could it not be named after someone great? Tom Lehrer, for example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmwlzwGMMwc).
Fabulous idea, count me in! Janine
cool idea, I think this would be nice.
)
Another nice name could be “Tiberium” (but only for C&C fans
I vote for “charmander”
[...] put kryptonite on the periodic table. To get on board with the campaign please post your support on his site, and together we can make our universe a little more like the Superman [...]
Go ahead sir!
I cast my vote for Unobtainium.
My suggestions are:
Saganium after Carl sagan or Asimovium after Isaac Asimov!
bring back a lost love…
to get your ex back with…
My vote would be for Barsoomium (Bs) ?
I thought “Surprise” would be a good name.
Retardium
seems like the naming’s done:
13 July 2009
The group of Sigurd Hofmann proposes to the IUPAC the name COPERNICIUM (symbol Cp) for element 112.
“With our suggestion we want to honour a scientist, an astronomer, who lived in the period of the transition from the middle ages to modern times. He was born on February 19th, 1473, in Torun, Poland, and died on May 24th, 1543, in Frombork/Frauenburg. His work was of exceptional influence on the political and philosophical thinking of people and on the rise of modern science based on experimental results.”
GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung gmbH
education flash games…
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