Any news on the heavier elements?

Starbles@Earthlink.net

Have they ever retried to recreate the heavier elements, such as
element 118? I have heard no news since they retracted the statement
that they had created element 118. I looked in the wiki for Ununoctium
but the last thing it says is that they retracted it.

I was wondering, is it even possible to create such a heavy element? If
there is no news, then perhaps it is because it is impossible. Is there
anything in quantum chromodynamics that would suggest that such a heavy
particle could not exist? Perhaps because the moment it is created it
decays and hadn't really formed an element except as an intermediate
phase..

I would seriously like some feedback on this topic.

Uncle Al

Starbles@Earthlink.net wrote:
>
> Have they ever retried to recreate the heavier elements, such as
> element 118? I have heard no news since they retracted the statement
> that they had created element 118. I looked in the wiki for Ununoctium
> but the last thing it says is that they retracted it.
>
> I was wondering, is it even possible to create such a heavy element? If
> there is no news, then perhaps it is because it is impossible. Is there
> anything in quantum chromodynamics that would suggest that such a heavy
> particle could not exist? Perhaps because the moment it is created it
> decays and hadn't really formed an element except as an intermediate
> phase..
>
> I would seriously like some feedback on this topic.

The "island of stability" for superheavy elements requires very large
neutron-proton ratios. There is no apparent pair of parent nuclei
that can be fused to get there - precursors rapidly beta-decay near
their neutron drip lines. A sufficiently large neutron luminosity
would, by multiple capture, give enormous neutron-proton ratios plus
beta-decay to progressively ratchet up the atomic number of a heavy
precursor. If you could sustain an H-bomb for a few hours instead of
a few microseconds...

--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz3.pdf