As for updating the periodic table, element 118 would slot in just below radon in the column that contains inert gases.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear physics

Ironically, today's most fashionable battery material, lithium, is the third-lightest element in that table and therefore one for which no such relativistic effects can be expected.

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The next heaviest element in the periodic table, the inert gas helium, is used for detecting cracks in pressure vessels and the like.

ECONOMIST: Tech.view: Hydrogen tries again | The

To see whether the next magic number is nearby in the periodic table, the experimenters will now try to produce element 120 by bombarding a plutonium target with a beam of iron ions.

ECONOMIST: Nuclear physics: Magical shell game | The

Silicon is a chemical element (Si), which can be found on the Periodic Table.

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Perhaps the most intriguing element of the invitational is its bounty system: At each starting table one notable, from Buffett to NetJets CEO Jordan Hansell to NBA star Vince Carter, dons an armband.

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