Do we make atoms of Oganneson etc or are they nuclei?

[Jimtaff]

When the heaviest elements such as element 118 (Oganesson) are created, the production is described as a a collision of an ion projectile (eg calcium-48) with a target atom (eg californium 249). Does this collision result in an atom of oganesson before the decay to 116 (Livermorium) or is it just an ion or a nucleus that is created? If it is a complete atom, how long does it take the electron cloud to form? Does this then take a finite time to settle into its electon configuration? What do we know of the resulting configuration?

 

[.Scott]

Once the nucleus has formed, the atom is considered "complete". In an environment with ample electrons, it's hard to say that even an ion never has its full complement of electrons. In general, electrons do not have specific positions, so only the speed of light will limit how long the nucleus will have to wait before it starts sharing ambient electrons.

 

[DrDu]

These ions will grab electrons from their environment. If the half life is at least in the range of seconds, it is possible to make even chemical analyses with single atoms. I don't know whether this has been done or is possible for 118.

 

[mfb]

If the nuclei get stuck in some place they accumulate electrons within much less than a picosecond.

Oganesson has one or maybe two known isotopes, both have a half life of less than 0.5 seconds, too short for chemical analyses (and with fewer than 10 atoms produced in total this would be very challenging even with a longer lifetime).