Are there Undiscovered Elements Beyond The Periodic Table?
3,403,851
Published 2022-11-16
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Adamantium, bolognium, dilithium. Element Zero, Kryptonite. Mythril, Netherite, Orichalcum, Unobtanium. We love the idea of fictional elements with miraculous properties that science has yet to discover. But is it really possible that new elements exist beyond the periodic table?
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All Comments (21)
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The element nobody will be expecting: the element of surprise!
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5th grade in mid 70’s we were required to memorize the periodic table and were told “THIS is everything that everything in made of..” I asked how that was possible and couldn’t there be more we haven’t found yet. Teacher berated me for “questioning” the scientists knowledge and told the class “they are much smarter than all of you..” Always wanted to go back and find that teacher after more and more elements have been added over the years.
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I had a nightmare once that we synthesized element 125 and it instantly destroyed the universe
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I’m always amazed at how early scientist discovered… stuff. Take Mendelev, arranging the known elements to their known atomic weight… the dude was born in 1834!
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The sheer fact that we don't fully know yet what is required to make an atom stable means that there are most likely big surprises ahead of us.
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I read a paper a while back about the possiblity of a 'continent of stability'. Basically an Island of stability but could hold an entire periodic table's worth of new elements, made possible by strange quarks or something
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In 9th grade in my chemistry class i did this pretty cool exercise in thought where we looked at the fictional material vibranium from marvel and tried to figure out where it would go on the periodic table based on its properties. Fun stuff
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What is most satisfying in this video is that it has millons of view. It makes me think that millions of people are interested in science. So it gives the hope that the humanity is not yet doomed to extinction. Make science, not war.
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I'm old enough that I remember seeing the periodic table in chemistry class with elements 104 and up not even having proper names, just placeholder numeric names.
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I would strongly recommend "The man who tried to fake an element" video by BobbyBroccoli. It goes into a lot of detail about history of new element synthesis and basic physics.
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I would expect the next row of the periodic table to be even longer than the current ones. Every two rows, we see the addition of a new electron orbital (the rare earths actually fit in the table, but are dropped below it for display purposes). And with the next row, we're due for a fifth electron orbital type with 18 electrons.
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I feel like one of the most important means to advance technology nowadays is to find ways to explain complex things in a simple to understand way, so that more people gain an interest in scientific topics. And you're doing an amazing job with it!
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Technetium has always seemed like a clue that we should not stop synthesizing new elements. If there’s a radioactive element smack dab in the middle of the periodic table, could there be a stable element in the middle of radioactive ones?
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No matter what's going on, Spacetime always raises my spirits. It's a showcase of the best humans making the species better.
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8:02 i've never heard anyone explained it at all, and you did that so good. I only found myself hearing about such things separately, in different context. If i was reading it in the book it, i could'nt fathom it. Thank you, that was interesting
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I like the idea of us humans being cosmic horrors.
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I remember sitting in the chemistry classroom, looking at the sun-bleached periodic table above the blackboard. It "ended" probably around Seaborgium, having the "Unununium" names. I remember reading about the Island of Stability some time later, and that made me... believe, I guess, that those new sorta-stable elements are going to be the most amazing thing ever. I hope I will live to hear about them :)
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I think I read somewhere that the island of stability is a moving frontier. A few years back, it was expected that elements above 115 or 116 would be found to be a bit more stable than the ones before, as they would be the "shore" of the island. Now that we are up to 118 with each new element being less and less stable, the island is predicted to be further away...
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Understanding this is one thing but knowing it so well you can contribute to the knowledge seems supernatural to me. I will never know what it’s like to have a mind like that
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May i just say, i never heard this story assuming that anything below lead could be found in some quantities somewhere. Learn something new everyday. Thankyou so much for your channel.
