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As the Chase For New Elements Slows, Scientists Focus on Deepening Their Understanding of the Superheavy Ones They Already Know (nature.com)
From a report: The quest to extend the periodic table is not over, but it is grinding to a halt. Since Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev published his periodic table 150 years ago, researchers have been adding elements to it at the average rate of one every two or three years. Having found all the elements that are stable enough to persist naturally, researchers started to create their own, and are now up to element 118, oganesson. Although they still hope to find more, they agree that prospects of venturing beyond element 120 are dim.
"We're reaching the area of diminishing returns in the synthesis of new elements, at least with our current level of technology," says Jacklyn Gates, who works on heavy-element chemistry at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. As a result, research on the edge of the periodic table is shifting focus. Rather than chasing new elements, scientists are going back to deepen their understanding of the superheavy ones -- roughly speaking, those with an atomic number above 100 -- that they have already made.
Studying the chemical properties of these elements could show whether the most massive ones obey the organizing principle of the table -- which sorts elements into groups with similar behaviours on the basis of periodically recurring patterns of chemical reactivity. And although the heaviest elements decay in less than the blink of an eye, researchers still hope that they might arrive at the fabled 'island of stability': a hypothesized region of element-land where some superheavy isotopes -- atoms that have the same number of protons in their nucleus, but differing numbers of neutrons -- might exist for minutes, days or even longer.
"We're reaching the area of diminishing returns in the synthesis of new elements, at least with our current level of technology," says Jacklyn Gates, who works on heavy-element chemistry at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. As a result, research on the edge of the periodic table is shifting focus. Rather than chasing new elements, scientists are going back to deepen their understanding of the superheavy ones -- roughly speaking, those with an atomic number above 100 -- that they have already made.
Studying the chemical properties of these elements could show whether the most massive ones obey the organizing principle of the table -- which sorts elements into groups with similar behaviours on the basis of periodically recurring patterns of chemical reactivity. And although the heaviest elements decay in less than the blink of an eye, researchers still hope that they might arrive at the fabled 'island of stability': a hypothesized region of element-land where some superheavy isotopes -- atoms that have the same number of protons in their nucleus, but differing numbers of neutrons -- might exist for minutes, days or even longer.
Scientists' Mothers Decline Request for New Elements, Says You have Perfectly Good Ones You haven't even Researched Yet
... they're just big-boned.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
So the idea of finding an 'island of stability' after all those shrinking half-lives didn't pan out, then?
And the rights of women? You dont seem to have an issue making sure they dont have any rights.
I wonder if large elements become unstable because they're approaching the size at which quantum effects no longer manifest. I imagine it's known, but also wonder why certain non-isotopes are radioactive.
Corruption is convincing someone that the selfless ideal is the same as their selfish ideal.
You need to go further than Mars. Calvera is the closest neutron star, located in Ursa Minor, about 1000 LY from earth. A neutron star is basically a giant nucleus, so it is technically an element.
STFU, Ivan.
or well googled, aspie!
"If you want to ignore the threat that liberalism and secularism poses to your rights and your soul then so be it" - Why yes, we do want to ignore your retarded syphilitic pseudo-Christian bullshit, right up until you roast in hell. Yep.
really :)
only 1000LY, that's simple elon musk just launched another reusable rocket into LEO so 1000LY is the next logical step.
progress
I said:
> so adding protons doesn't help.
Its neutrons, not protons - it should have been
Neutrons stabilize the nucleus by adding more strong force without electric force, but again size matters, a proton at one extreme of a uranium nucleus feels almost no strong force from the other side so adding *neutrons* doesn't help.
Where superheavy elements form the basis of advanced technology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
I'm not sure, but Mirkheim, by Poul Anderson, may contain similar elements (pun intended).
Both great book.s
Absolute statements are never true
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... is closer (about 400LY) and there may be other cold ones even closer. They're hard to detect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
The quest for Unobtanium continues
Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.
A neutron star is basically a giant nucleus, so it is technically an element.
Not by a long shot. Neutron stars are made up of neutron degenerate matter which is a press of multiple neutrons into an incredibly dense material. The neutrons are still separate and do not merge into one. Even the neutrons present can not be described as an element since they lack the other key features of an element, namely protons and electrons.
Your hypothesis is novel, but lacks a basic understanding of the phenomenon.
The government who you pay all of your hard earned taxes to has used your tax dollars to procure many super heavy elements , in all forms (solid, liquid, gasses)
However due to "national security" (aka an easy excuse to steal all of your tax dollars and keep all the high science goodies to ourselves) they don't release the science to the public.
The government, who you pay all your tax dollars to, steals all the science, puts it in the military, and you get nothing :) good deal huh?
I mean, why give everyone free energy and anti-gravity? Then we might not have governments who can steal from us.
Can we name one of them Felonium? That way, we can show that even the realm of physics has (puts on shades) a criminal element.
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Neutron stars are made up of neutron degenerate matter which is a press of multiple neutrons into an incredibly dense material.
What happened to all the protons and electrons? Did they "convert" into neutrons? If so, what does that tell us about "fundamental" particles?
The neutrons are still separate and do not merge into one.
What allows the neutrons to keep their "identity" under such extreme stresses?
"Someone needs to talk to the tree of liberty about its ghoulish drinking problem." by ohnocitizen
"What happened to all the protons and electrons? Did they "convert" into neutrons?" Essentially, yes!
"If so, what does that tell us about "fundamental" particles?" Protons, electrons and neutrons haven't been considered fundamental particles for a very long time now. See: Quarks.
"What allows the neutrons to keep their "identity" under such extreme stresses?" Not sure what you are asking here. There is enough gravitational force to coerce the protons and electrons into neutrons. There isn't enough gravitational force to overcome the crush limit of neutrons and create a black hole.
Interestingly though, degenerate matter created by gravity, would not stay as neutrons if the gravity field somehow relaxed or went away. It took me years to find out the answer to this, but the degenerate neutrons would separate and become protons and electrons again. Furthermore the rebound process would be both fast and violent.
This is suggestive. Somehow, degenerate neutrons are not the same as regular neutrons, which of course would not (and do not) do this.