> already tried everything on the periodic table together Shall we consider the size of the space to explore? If n is the number of elements, at first blush it

> already tried everything on the periodic table together Shall we consider the size of the space to explore? If n is the number of elements, at first blush it's n*2. But there are compounds -- more than nine million organic compounds alone. Electrical and temperature treatments can have different effects -- and those are functional spaces, you don't just choose a current, you vary the current over time. Simple positioning can have an effect: rotate one surface relative to another and it can behave totally differently. Wafers behave differently than strings, which behave differently than spheres and crystals, which behave differently than dust ... If there was a race between our exploring the entire chemical space and colonizing the universe, I would not know which to bet on.