29.08 Russia Discovery of New Element Verified -- Report

WASHINGTON, August 29 (RIA Novosti) � Scientists in Europe have replicated an experiment first done in Russia 10 years ago and confirmed discovery of a new chemical element, US media and researchers reported this week.

The element, which has the atomic number 115 on the periodic table, has been given the provisional name of �ununpentium,� a term approximating the Greek and Latin words for the number 115, science news website LiveScience reported.

In a statement, Lund University in Sweden said Wednesday that an international team of researchers working in Germany �have confirmed the existence of what is considered a new element with atomic number 115.�

�The results confirm earlier measurements performed by groups in Russia,� the statement acknowledged.

LiveScience said the original experiments were conducted in the Russian town of Dubna north of Moscow a decade ago. A report on a specialist physics website in 2004 said both Russian and US scientists were involved in the original breakthrough.

Ununpentium was described as a �super-heavy� element with an atomic weight far higher than uranium, the heaviest common natural element.

�Scientists hope that by creating heavier and heavier elements, they will find a theoretical