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.”
How did researchers discover the elements?
By creating collisions between less heavy nuclei By inducing radioactive decay of other elements By transforming metalloid elements into gasses By removing protons from previously discovered elements