The as-yet-unnamed element, element 118, is the heaviest yet discovered, with a nucleus consisting of 118 protons and 176 neutrons.

The heaviest naturally occurring element is uranium, which has 92 protons. Its most common form, or isotope, has 146 neutrons. Scientists have also artificially created most of the other elements between uranium and element 118. (Related: "Nuclear Tech Not a 'New Capability' for North Korea, Experts Say" [October 13, 2006.)

The newest element was created in a particle accelerator in Dubna, Russia, that shot a beam of calcium-48 ions (containing 20 protons) into a target of californium 249, an artificial element with 98 protons (map of Russia).

To create a mere three atoms of element 118, the scientists spent two months bombarding the californium target with 30 billion billion calcium ions.

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