To discover the elements, researchers at the three labs crashed lighter nuclei into one another and looked for the radioactive decays that should come from the new elements. 113 and 115 are probably metals. 117 could be a metalloid – a material with some metallic characteristics. The fourth element, 118, may be a gas. Paul Karol, chair of the IUPAC panel that checked the elements, said: “It will be a long time before we can find practical uses for the new elements.”
Why did researchers look for radioactive decays?
To detect the presence of the novel elements To determine the right time to crash nuclei into one another To see if the new elements could be put to practical use To calculate the half-life of the new elements