- #1
ACG
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I remember hearing somewhere that one of the reasons people are trying to make elements which high atomic numbers is to see if they can be made to have long half-lives, such as uranium. In effect, they're virtually stable. However, I don't see how that can be.
Here's why. Suppose element X has an atomic number over 100 and has a long half life. If I recall correctly, all elements higher than iron are created in supernova explosions when lots of neutrons and protons starts crashing into each other in extreme conditions. The only way for this element to not exist would be for the supernova explosions to not be able to create it to begin with (otherwise, we'd see it lying around on the Earth's surface just like uranium).
This means one of two things: element X does not exist, or element X exists but cannot be created in supernovas.
Which of these is it? Is the chain of short-half-life elements from Z=98-115 long enough that it basically serves as a bottleneck in the process a supernova uses to construct elements? Do these high-Z elements require temperatures to create which cannot be created even in a supernova?
Thanks in advance,
ACG
Here's why. Suppose element X has an atomic number over 100 and has a long half life. If I recall correctly, all elements higher than iron are created in supernova explosions when lots of neutrons and protons starts crashing into each other in extreme conditions. The only way for this element to not exist would be for the supernova explosions to not be able to create it to begin with (otherwise, we'd see it lying around on the Earth's surface just like uranium).
This means one of two things: element X does not exist, or element X exists but cannot be created in supernovas.
Which of these is it? Is the chain of short-half-life elements from Z=98-115 long enough that it basically serves as a bottleneck in the process a supernova uses to construct elements? Do these high-Z elements require temperatures to create which cannot be created even in a supernova?
Thanks in advance,
ACG