Jim Roberto, an associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will discuss the discovery of elements 115 and 117, super-heavy nuclei, and the “island of stability” during a Wednesday evening talk next week.

Roberto, ORNL associate laboratory director for science and technology partnerships, will give the featured talk to the ORION astronomy club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. The talk will be at the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

Roberto’s talk is titled “The Discovery of Elements 115 and 117: SuperHeavy Nuclei and the ‘Island of Stability.'” Roberto will review recent progress in super-heavy element research with particular focus on the significance of element 117 and its decay products as evidence for the existence of the presumed “island of stability” for super-heavy nuclei, a press release said. [Read more…]