Criteria for the Discovery of Chemical Elements

The availability of suitable heavy-ion accelerators should make it possible to synthesize and identify additional heavy transuranium elements. Criteria for adequate proof that a new element has been synthesized or found in nature and identified are suggested. The basic criterion must be the proof that the atomic number of the new element is different from the atomic numbers of all previously known elements. Chemical identification constitutes an ideal proof; the procedure must be valid for application to individual atoms in an unequivocal manner. Also satisfactory is the identification of characteristic x rays in connection with the decay of the isotope of the new element. This is likely to…