Posted on 02/02/2016 4:29:12 PM PST by MtnClimber
Chemistry teachers recently had to update their classroom decor, with the announcement that scientists have confirmed the discovery of four new elements on the periodic table. The as-yet unnamed elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 filled in the remaining gaps at the bottom of the famous chart-a roadmap of matter's building blocks that has successfully guided chemists for nearly a century and a half.
The official confirmation, granted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), was years in the making, as these superheavy elements are highly unstable and tough to create. But scientists had strong reason to believe they existed, in part because the periodic table has been remarkably consistent so far. Efforts to conjure up elements 119 and 120, which would start a new row, are already underway.
But exactly how many more elements are out there remains one of chemistryâs most persistent mysteries, especially as our modern understanding of physics has revealed anomalies even in the established players.
(Excerpt) Read more at smithsonianmag.com ...
Besides being awkward grammar, it doesn't make sense. Was it supposed to ?
At both ends of the scale we find no end.
Our estimate of the size of the Universe has grown as our equipment has improved. Yet we cannot find the end.
Our estimate of the size of the smallest ‘particle’ of matter has decreased as our equipment has improved. Yet we cannot find the end.
As it stands, scientifically, the Universe is infinite.
It seems strange that hydrogen is the lightest element so far, and it is so common, supposedly making up most of normal matter. That and the speed of light are the two weird limits or end points I can think of.
Freegards
“The Protons in the nucleus repel each other. “
Reminds me of my ex.
It all depends on your point of view.
From the atom's perspective, If one were standing on a nucleus of an atom, the distance to the nearest electron might seem like infinity.
To someone on a planet around Proxima Centauri the distance between the Star we call the Sun and the Earth is infinitely small, so small as not to even be detectable.
And yet, both are in the same exact space.
So far, the only known limit to the Universe is the Speed Limit.
Which must mean there is a single point in the Universe from which everything is moving away.
For a long time science declared that point was Earth.
Now they find that everything is moving in different directions at different speeds. So they claim that it's space itself that is expanding and everything is moving away from each other while moving in random other directions including towards each other with spectacular results when crashing together.
HEAT DEATH (entropy) : The theory that all the energy was created at the big bang, and it slowly burns out over time. Yet as old stars die out, new stars are born.
So, the facts don't fit the theory, at all.
Unless you run out of ink. Ink is finite.
Neptunium is proof that if you take something radioactive and dangerous, like Uranium, and bombard it with extremely high energy, you can make something more radioactive and dangerous.
So... when does it become safe to eat ?
If they discover bigbangium, they might want to treat it gently.
Maybe hydrogen is the easiest thing for the Universe to make (requires the least amount of energy).
Pretty clever GOD is. (awkward grammar, I admit)
I agree. No matter what else any of us say on this thread tonight, nothing can beat that.
She must have bumped into a quark and acquired a negative charge.
I hope it’s soon, getting a new tablecloth every couple of years is a pain. ;’)
Thanks Thunder90.
When Tom Leher dies!
Although the uncertainties in the quadrupole deformation of the ground states of known superheavy nuclei are small, they increase on approaching nuclei with Z = 120 and/or N = 184. As a result, even the ground state deformations of these nuclei (whether spherical or oblate) cannot be predicted with certainty.
http://arxiv.org/pdf/1510.07909.pdf
I guess (No, I hope) that there will be a second Island of Stability even further up. The world would be more interesting if that is the case. ;-)
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