Is Mendeleev's Table Truly Complete?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the completeness of Mendeleev's periodic table and whether it encompasses all possible elements in the universe. It is established that new atoms can be formed through different combinations of protons and neutrons, but elements with the same number of protons are classified as the same element, occupying the same position in the table. Gaps in the table can only occur at the right-hand end, where new elements are occasionally discovered. Current knowledge indicates that while stable elements are well-documented, many heavier elements are radioactive and less stable.

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Hi

This might be a pretty stupid question to you guys, but it started to bug me.

Are the elements that Mendeleev's table contains all the possible atoms that our universe contains or could there be more which we just don't know about?
And if it is complete, why arent there any more possibilities? Is it because of the size of the nucleus?

Thanks in advance,
fawk3s
 
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fawk3s said:
… Are the elements that Mendeleev's table contains all the possible atoms that our universe contains or could there be more which we just don't know about?

Hi fawk3s! :smile:

A new atom would have a new combination of numbers of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.

Its place in the Mendeleev table is fixed only by the number of protons.

Two atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of (neutral) neutrons would have the same electron shell structure, and so would be chemically the same, which is why they would be called the same element, and be in the same position in the table.

So the only place there can be gaps in the table is on the right-hand end, and indeed new elements are occasionally added there.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_stability" and links from it.
 
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We pretty much know all the elements that are stable. The rest are radioactive.

As far was we know, the laws of Nature apply in the visible universe as they do here.


www.webelements.com displays the periodic table and has some information on the superheavy elements.
 

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