73 new exotic nuclei discovered at Japanese institute

Scientists at Japan’s Riken laboratories – famous for their discovery of nihonium, element 113 – have created 73 previously unknown isotopes of well-known elements like iron (⁷⁶Fe), silver (¹³²Ag) and iodine (¹⁴⁷I).^1-4 These exotic nuclei can teach researchers about how heavy elements were formed when the universe was in its infancy.

To date, 3000 isotopes have been discovered, but 4000 more ‘are expected to exist, according to the theoretical estimation’, says Hideto En’yo, director of Riken’s Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science where four research teams discovered the 73 new nuclides over the last year.