(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY SARAH NG

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

The periodic table has welcomed two elements into its family. But like any newborn baby, names have yet to be confirmed.
For now, scientists have decided on -- flerovium -- and livermorium. FL and LV for short. Or 114 and 116.
MSNBC reports -- on the long incubation period.

“It's taken a long time for 114 and 116 to get this far: They were first synthesized more than a decade ago at Russia's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna... For years the elements were known merely by their placeholder names, ununquadium and ununhexium. This June, the IUPAC accepted 114 and 116 as the heaviest confirmed elementson the periodic table...”

Following in the footsteps of three other super heavy elements just added.
New Scientist notes, they’re a different breed because, frankly, they don’t live long lives.

“Researchers hope that flerovium and livermorium are stepping stones to an "island of stability" where heavier elements would have isotopes with long enough lifetimes to be studied more extensively or used practically.”

And while scientists from The IUPAC- or International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry have accepted the names, that’s not the end of it.

The public now gets a 5-month period to comment and raise objections before the names become official.
Chemistry Union Executive Editor Terry Renner, tells the New York Times, this allows all of us to get our geek on.

“We believe we have to let the world respond... It’s a desire to be fair and recognize everyone’s right to contribute as a scientist.”

Using his best scientific jargon, Renner also tells the Times, barring “a major kerfuffle,” the proposed names will get the stamp of approval next May.