THE NAMES OF ELEMENTS 104-109 have finally been accepted by nuclear scientists and certified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The delay over the names was caused partly by rival claims to priority; the pertinent experiments rendered mere handfuls of atoms. Physics and chemistry students worldwide will now have to memorize the following additions to the Periodic Table: Rutherfordium (abbreviated Rf, element 104), Dubnium (Db, 105), Seaborgium (Sg, 106), Bohrium (Bh, 107), Hassium (Hs, 108), and Meitnerium (Mt, 109). (The New York Times, 4 March 1997.)