4 ms·

Sorry for what is most certainly a naive question from someone who hasn't studied much chemistry or physics. This line stood out to me. > Locock’s rapid identi

Sorry for what is most certainly a naive question from someone who hasn't studied much chemistry or physics. This line stood out to me. > Locock’s rapid identification was possible because the two minerals had been synthetically created before, so he was able to match the composition of the newly discovered natural minerals with their human-made counterparts. Isn't it possible, in theory, to synthesize an infinite variety of chemical elements which would just get heavier and heavier as we append them to the periodic table, or is there some kind of a natural limit?

earthbee 4y ago
The very heavy atoms that we can create usually have incredibly short half-lives and decay in a tiny fraction of a second.
- prox 4y ago
  Isn’t there an active research for the “island of stability” at the top end of the table? Aka a set of elements that theoretically remain stable.
  - TaylorAlexander 4y ago
    Yes! Here is a nice PBS Spacetime video on the subject that was recently published. "Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvXCuEA1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvXCuEA1lw
    - prox 4y ago
      That was a good watch! Thanks.
reedf1 4y ago
In terms of elements, yes there are some fundamental limits. The limit (as I was taught in undergrad physics) we practically estimated by finding the heaviest element where an electron does not breach the speed of light.
- r2_pilot 4y ago
  Fun fact : gold has its distinctive color due to quantum mechanics and the electron's speed around the nucleus. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemistry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemist...
TylerE 4y ago
Mineral != element.
feoren 4y ago
It sounds like you may be confusing "mineral" and "chemical element". Minerals are regular arrangements of compounds of elements. It is enormously easier to get progressively heavier (or extreme in any other sense) synthetic minerals than to synthesize new elements. Synthesizing new minerals require arranging existing common elements in new ways; synthesizing new elements requires extreme high-energy physics.

earthbee 4y ago

The very heavy atoms that we can create usually have incredibly short half-lives and decay in a tiny fraction of a second.

prox 4y ago
Isn’t there an active research for the “island of stability” at the top end of the table? Aka a set of elements that theoretically remain stable.
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  Yes! Here is a nice PBS Spacetime video on the subject that was recently published. "Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvXCuEA1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prvXCuEA1lw
  - prox 4y ago
    That was a good watch! Thanks.

reedf1 4y ago

In terms of elements, yes there are some fundamental limits. The limit (as I was taught in undergrad physics) we practically estimated by finding the heaviest element where an electron does not breach the speed of light.

r2_pilot 4y ago
Fun fact : gold has its distinctive color due to quantum mechanics and the electron's speed around the nucleus. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemistry https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_quantum_chemist...

TylerE 4y ago

Mineral != element.

feoren 4y ago

It sounds like you may be confusing "mineral" and "chemical element". Minerals are regular arrangements of compounds of elements. It is enormously easier to get progressively heavier (or extreme in any other sense) synthetic minerals than to synthesize new elements. Synthesizing new minerals require arranging existing common elements in new ways; synthesizing new elements requires extreme high-energy physics.