SCIENCE JOURNAL 2018

S uperheavy E lements are so U nstable T hat there is N o P oint T rying to S yntehsis or U nnecessary ? Joanne Ryu

Abstract Recent discoveries of elements 113, 115, 117 and 118 indicated that research into superheavy elements can further the knowledge of the subatomic world including more information on the ‘island of stability’, ‘peninsula of stability’, ‘sea of instability’ and nuclear fusion. However, there are clear opportunity costs as money, time and effort can be better spent elsewhere.

the time and effort taken can be used better elsewhere. Therefore, superheavy elements are so unstable that there is no point trying to synthesis them. Chemical Concepts, Evidence and Explanation Process of Creating Superheavy Elements Superheavy elements are made using a particle accelerator (Appendix 6). This process involves a lighter element to be accelerated and smashed into a different heavier element (Hinde, 2016). This is difficult because in comparison to the size of the atom as a whole (Appendix 5), the nucleus only makes up 0.0000000000004% (in a hydrogen atom) (Gagnon, 2014). In order for nuclear fusion to occur, which is needed for the creation of superheavy elements, the nuclei of these elements have to touch. Another reason for the difficulty is that the nuclei in both elements are positive, meaning they will repel (Williams, 2013). Therefore, the accelerated atom needs enough force to overcome this repulsion. However, too much energy can lead to the two nuclei bouncing off each other and not fusing (Williams, 2013). Even if all of the above issues were overcome, the two nuclei still may not fuse or will not result in the desired element. Only one or two superheavy elements can be created in several weeks (Hinde, 2016). This once again supports the claim that there is no point in synthesising superheavy elements. Responding to the Research Question- How does the size of an element affect the stabil- ity? In an atom, there is electrostatic repulsion, which is positively charged protons repelling (Watkins, 2017). Counteracting this is the very short-range strong nuclear force, which exists between any two particles in the nucleus (Appendix 7) (Aether, 2016). Stable nuclei contain at least one neutron to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between protons

Periodic Table Including the Four New Superheavy Elements (Williams, 2013)

Introduction December 30, 2015 marked the “huge breakthrough” for the science community, with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)’s announcement of the confirmed existence of superheavy elements 113 (Nihonium), 115 (Moscovium),117 (Tennessine) and 118 (Organesson). Element 113, (positioned in Group 13 as a poor metal (Appendix 2)) was discovered in Japan and 115 and 117 (positioned in Group 15 and 17 respectively, also as poor metals (Appendix 2)) and 118 (positioned in Group 18 as a noble gas (Appendix 2)) were discovered by Russia and the US (Compound Interest, 2016). These elements now complete the seventh row of the periodic table (Appendix 2). Although, all of the elements only lasted a “few dozen milliseconds” (Kluger, 2016), it inspired scientists to figure out a way in synthesising superheavy elements and the key to this would be to manipulate its size. There are benefits to synthesising new elements, however

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Somerset College Journal of Scientific Issues

Year 10