Change.org petition to get element named after Mötorhead's Lemmy launched

Home Top

Security scare at The People's Choice Awards as stage crasher stops ceremony... to be promptly dealt with by Sharon Osbourne
Twin sisters, 21, mauled and bitten more than 100 times in savage attack by their pet Rottweiller-Husky
Man wearing tactical body armor and carrying a BB gun is shot dead by police in Chicago after taking pictures of schools
Macy's to cut 4,800 jobs and close 40 stores after disappointing holiday sales season
Candid Joe Biden says he 'regrets' his decision not to run for President 'every day' as he admits to having second thoughts
Texas state trooper is indicted for PERJURY in case of black police detainee Sandra Bland who died in custody
EXCLUSIVE: Amy Winehouse's mother suspected the singer had Tourette's and reveals her tragic final days - she cut her face, stubbed cigarettes out on her cheek, lost teeth and bones stuck out of her knees
Congress finally votes to repeal Obamacare - but it's hardly taxpayers money well spent, president will simply veto their measure
Lottery rollover jackpot to be largest in US HISTORY on Saturday at estimated $675 million as no-one claims top prize in Powerball draw
'I do NOT have cancer,' insists Janet Jackson after cancelling tour while she recovers from mystery illness
No passport, no flight: Driver's licenses from five states will no longer be valid to board a domestic flight
Two male college students were 'kidnapped by gang of six and tortured in extreme forty hour ordeal until SWAT team swooped in'
California declares State of Emergency following gas leak that has been spewing noxious methane fumes into the air for more than two months
Bill Cosby will NOT face criminal charges in Los Angeles over two separate allegations of sexual assault
More than half of Americans are just $500 away from a personal financial disaster and can't handle an unexpected emergency bill
'People want to cook more': How one food delivery company is revolutionizing dinner for busy Americans with fresh ingredients and healthy recipes
Remind you of anyone? Prince George is pictured on his first day at nursery striking a pose just like his grandfather
'I think he's dead': Scott Weiland 911 transcript reveals rocker was found 'stiff' and 'not moving' on tour bus after fatal drug overdose
Former federal prosecutor says Hillary could be indicted in the next 60 days as the FBI compiles 'overwhelming' evidence against her
Making a Murderer 'killers' will NOT be pardoned: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker rules out any chance of a reprieve
Couple's wedding night ruined by Airbnb renters who had coke-fuelled orgy on their living room floor while newlyweds had to listen from their bedroom
The North Korean bomb test that caused tremors in China: Mystery over rogue nation's 'hydrogen' explosion that split children's playground and shook roads and buildings hundreds of miles away
Wall Street takes another heavy hit: Dow tumbles more than 250 points in wake of North Korea hydrogen bomb claims
Chinese markets suspended for second time in a week after 'circuit breakers' kick in when shares plunge by 7%

A petition is suggesting one of the newly discovered elements be named for Motörhead rocker Lemmy, who died of cancer on December 28
The Change.org petition has received more than 15,000 supporters
Some fans said the heavy metal namesake isn't what Lemmy would want
The four new elements were verified on December 30

Published: 07:50 EST, 6 January 2016 | Updated: 14:32 EST, 6 January 2016

112

View
comments

A campaign has been launched to name one of the four newly discovered elements in honour of dead Mötorhead rocker Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister.

Fans are hoping Lemmy's name will live on, not only in their hearts, but also in the periodic table.

Lemmy was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of cancer on Boxing Day and died just two days later at his home in Los Angeles. He had just celebrated his 70th birthday on Christmas Eve.

Scroll down for video

A campaign wants a new element named for Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister of Motörhead , who died on December 28

Kosuke Morita smiles as he points to a board displaying the new element 113 during a press conference

A petition on Change.org is calling for one of four newly discovered super-heavy elements, chemical number 118 in the periodic table, to be named 'Lemmium'.

The petition, set up by John Wright, a business support manager from York, states:

'Heavy rock lost its most iconic figure over Christmas with the sudden and unexpected death of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister.

'Lemmy was a force of nature and the very essence of heavy metal. We believe it is fitting that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommend that one of the four new discovered heavy metals in the periodic table is named Lemmium.

'An astrological object (a star) has been named Lemmy to meet the IUPAC naming recommendations.'

The online campaign on Change.org has already received more than 15,000 supporters of its 25,000 goal

The four new elements have 'completed' the periodic table. They all have temporary names while the scientific community tries to figure out symbols for element number 113, 115, 117 and 118

These elements have been temporarily named as ununtrium, (element 113), ununpentium (element 115), ununseptium (element 117), and ununoctium (element 118) while names and symbols are formalised.

HOW AN ELEMENT GETS ITS NAME

After the discovery of a new element is established by the joint IUPAC-IUPAP Working Group, the discoverers are invited to propose a name and a symbol to the IUPAC Inorganic Chemistry Division.

Elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist.

After examination and acceptance by the Inorganic Chemistry Division, the proposal follows the accepted IUPAC procedure and is then ratified by the Council of IUPAC.

All new elements should have an ending that reflects and maintains historical and chemical consistency.

This would be in general '-ium' for elements belonging to groups 1-16, '-ine' for elements of group 17 and '-on' for elements of group 18."

Source: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

New elements can be named after a mythological concept, a mineral, a place or country, a property or a scientist.

The petition has already gained more than 15,000 supporters on the change.org, but some Motörhead fans said the heavy metal honorific is not what Lemmy would have wanted.

One fan wrote on the petition page: 'Let's not. Lemmy himself said in 2010, "We were not heavy metal. We were a rock'n'roll band. Still are. Everyone always describes us as heavy metal even when I tell them otherwise. Why won't people listen?" Why won't you listen?'

Another, Christopher Scurrah, added: 'Lemmy always said Motorhead wasn't heavy metal, he said "We're Motorhead and we play rock and roll". If 118 is a noble gas that's fine with me.'

The four new elements were discovered by scientists in America, Japan and Russia and were verified on December 30 by the IUPAC, which governs chemical naming, terminology and measurement.

The new elements are the first to be added to the periodic table since 2011, when elements 114 and 116 were added.

Kosuke Morita, who was leading the research at Riken Nishina Centre for Accelerator-Based Science, said his team now planned to “look to the uncharted territory of element 119 and beyond.'

Ryoji Noyori, former Riken president and Nobel laureate in chemistry said: 'To scientists, this is of greater value than an Olympic gold medal.'

Although the petition says it wants element 118 to be named for Lemmy, one fan said there's only one element that could be named for him that's in keeping with the heavy metal motif: Element 115.

Brian Davey of Connecticut, U.S., said: 'It'll have to be 115. 113 is going to be named by Japan, 117 is a halogen, and 118 is a noble gas.'