After 14 years of research and testing scientists have now created the heaviest element on record. The element has an atomic mass of 278 and is named after famous scientist and astronomer Copernicus.
To create the new element German scientist had to break the repulsive electrostatic force. After doing this they could get to the heart of the atom where the attractive forces are. With the combination of the repulsive and attractive forces scientist were able to fuse two nuclei together. With careful tracking of steps scientist then try to classify what element they actually created. Uranium is actually the heaviest element that can actually be found naturally with an atomic mass of 92. It will be placed on the periodic table near transition metals and may possibly have similiar properties to other elements in that group such as zinc and mercury.
I thought this article was really interesting because it shows how science often pushes limits and dares to create things never imagined possible. I think that as long as scientist keep striving for higher heights of scientific discovery then solutions to practical problems will continue to be possible. I have a feeling that scientist wont stop at copernicum. The periodic table will continue to expand and maybe a stable wonder element can be created that will give significant benefits to mankind.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My biggest problem with synthetic elements is their use. Out of all the synthetic elements, only the elements up to 96 really have a half-life enough to be useful, and although most of those are man-made, they could be found elsewhere in the universe.
ReplyDeleteThe question I propose is should the much higher elements even be included in the modern table? They don't have much use, and aren't confirmed to be on any other stars or planets (yet). I agree that some of the higher elements may have future uses (#118 could be another noble gas for instance) but for now we are simply creating things that have no practical value.
Nevertheless, this does show how science is advancing, creating things that not even nature can.