• Question: could there be more elements that havent been discovered

    Asked by 297drug44 to Hannah, Jenny, Oli, Steven on 16 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Hannah Bolt

      Hannah Bolt answered on 16 Nov 2016:


      Hi!

      Yes, there could be more elements in the periodic table that we haven’t yet discovered. I think scientists have probably found all of the ‘stable’ elements that exist but there are probably more unstable ones to be found.

      The elements that have been discovered most recently are 113, 115, 117 and 118. These elements complete a row on the periodic table and are all very unstable (they last less than a second in the lab!) so are created artificially. For example, the half life of element 118 (or ununoctium) is calculated to be 0.0006 seconds. This means every 0.0006 seconds, half of the mass of element has decayed into something else!

      Scientists make these new ‘super heavy elements’ using a piece of equipment called a ‘synchrotron’. The synchrotron accelerates two lighter elements towards each other and sometimes they will stick together to make heavier elements.

      No one knows how many more rows there might be on the periodic table. If we find heavier elements 119, 120 etc, they are likely to be even more unstable with odd properties and will probably be even harder to make than 113-118!

      Hannah

    • Photo: Steven Street

      Steven Street answered on 18 Nov 2016:


      Hi 297drug44,

      Yes, there most likely are! As Hannah said, we have probably discovered all of the stable elements… The bottom row of the periodic table is mostly produced only in labs, and as Hannah said only exists for fractions of a second before it decays into something else!

      Steve

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