Elements...

Last year in science I was told that there is absolutely no more elements in existence today that we don't know about. How can we prove that? There must be some elements that are unreachable to us.

Now saying there is more for us to discover, theoretically speaking, what kind of element would be created if we collided every single one together? Would it in any way be stable? What kind of element do you think it would be? Would it kill us? Would it maybe be something along the lines of a black hole? What colour would it be? Would the size of it be small and heavy, large and heavy, small and light etc.? Now come up with a name for it, I went with Unithorpium

Thoughts?

In theory there are an infinite number of elements, since you could in theory have infinit numbers of particles arond a nucleus.

I think they probably meant that there are no more naturally occuring elements known to man, because after a certain point, theya re all man-made.

reply to post by asmeone2


Yes but how can they prove that there isn't more natural elements out there that we cannot reach? I think scientists need to be more specific by saying something like, there isn't going to be anymore natural elements within the reach of Earth that we can at this moment record.

reply to post by Nyte Angel


Nyte Angel, there is always that New Element of Surprise.

Of course there will be more elements discovered, mostly manmade though.

Kryptonite was just discovered in solid form, instead of the gas form per the Periodic Table of Elements.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Originally posted by Nyte Angel
reply to post by asmeone2

 

Yes but how can they prove that there isn't more natural elements out there that we cannot reach? I think scientists need to be more specific by saying something like, there isn't going to be anymore natural elements within the reach of Earth that we can at this moment record.

They can't assume there are no more but they can say that there are no more elements between certain other elements.

That is how the Periodic Table is set up. It has to do with the number of particles in each atom.

Before some elements were actually discovered in nature, scientists could predict their existance, by looking at what they did have and finding the "holes" in the table.

reply to post by RussianScientists


So does that mean that they are going to have to change the periodic table of elements now so that Kryptonite isn't just a 'noble gas' anymore?

reply to post by Nyte Angel


I'm not entirely sure Nyte Angel, the Period Table of Elements has always been changed everytime something new occurred that would change the Periodic Table of Elements. Krypton itself is the actual element, but Kryptonite is a mineral, so they may not change it.

So... at the moment it is up for discussion if they will change the Periodic Table of Elements to show Kripton or Kryptonite as more than just a "noble gas" now that it has been discovered in a solid form.


[edit on 22-2-2009 by RussianScientists]

[edit on 22-2-2009 by RussianScientists]

reply to post by Nyte Angel


No, it's just an interesting arrangement of known elements. An interesting curiosity yes, but when you get down to it, completely off topic from this thread.

It's a bunch of familiar atoms stuck together in an unusual way.

Anyway, we can be reasonably sure there are no more naturally occurring elements because of the way atoms work. The electric force pushes the protons of the nucleus apart from each other, and the strong force holds the nucleus together. The strong force drops off with distance much faster than the electric force, so bigger atoms are unstable. About the biggest element you'll find in noticeable quantities in nature is uranium. Bigger ones that have to be made by man only last a fraction of a thousandth of a second, generally shorter the larget the nucleus.