Tennessine

Tennessine is a synthetic chemical element with atomic number 117 and symbol Ts. It is classified as a halogen and has no stable isotopes.

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research: A Russian nuclear-physics research center in Dubna that operates particle accelerators and conducts heavy-element research. Its team supplied the calcium-48 beam used to synthesize tennessine.
Nuclear fusion: A nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. Tennessine was made by fusing calcium-48 projectiles with berkelium-249 target nuclei.
Atomic number: The number of protons in an atomic nucleus, which defines the chemical element. Tennessine is element 117 because its nuclei contain 117 protons.
Superheavy element: A chemical element with atomic number 104 or greater, whose known isotopes are radioactive. Tennessine belongs to the superheavy elements created in accelerator laboratories.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: A United States research laboratory with major programs in nuclear science, energy, and materials. Oak Ridge supplied the berkelium target material used in the discovery experiments.
Cold fusion: A heavy-ion fusion method that forms an excited compound nucleus with relatively low excitation energy. This established superheavy-element synthesis route differs from the hot-fusion approach used for tennessine.
Chemical element: A pure substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons. Tennessine is one element, distinguished from others by its proton count.
Island of stability: A predicted region of enhanced nuclear stability among superheavy isotopes with particular proton and neutron numbers. Tennessine isotopes help test models that predict greater stability near certain superheavy nuclei.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: A United States national laboratory that conducts research in nuclear science, energy, and national security. Livermore researchers collaborated on the experiments that produced element 117.
Hot fusion: A heavy-ion fusion method that forms a highly excited compound nucleus, often using neutron-rich projectiles. The calcium-48 and berkelium-249 reaction was a hot-fusion route to element 117.

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