As Warner Wolf would say, “what a week”.

I heard that 2 new elements (114 & 116) have been discovered by Soviet nuclear physicist, Georgy Flyorov, apparently in collaboration  with scientists from the Lawrence Livermore laboratory in California. I know Sydney’s cold at the moment but I reckon the Cold War is well and truly over with this news!

Welcome to the periodic table

On behalf of all customer lifecycle & loyalty marketers around the world, I’d just like to extend a warm, personalised welcome to these 2 new elements.

Feel free to remind yourself of all their new friends here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periodic_table_(large_version)

“Dear element 114 (the number that refers to the number of protons in its nucleus), and Dear element 116,

Welcome to elementary life and I trust you enjoy your place on the periodic table.”

Hey wait…..names are important in this industry

Did you know that they only have placeholder names? 114’s is ununquadium, and 116’s is ununhexium. Hmmm think they can do better than that.

Names are critically important in direct marketing.

I’ve discovered that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is accepting name suggestions. Current suggestions include: flerovium, after the Soviet physicist, and moscovium as he is works at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, 100km north of Moscow.

Act now

So feel free to join the naming game. You can call The Sydney Morning Herald’s Column 8 on +61 2 9282 2207 or simply send your creative names directly to the IUPAC for consideration now.

Good luck