Eli5: Is it possible that there are elements on other planets, we don’t have on earth and haven’t discover yet?
In: Chemistry
Only the unstable, high atomic number, radioactive ones. If and only if there are conditions where they last more than a millisecond. Because an element is associated with the number of protons in the nucleus of its atom, aka atomic number, and we already have all the single- and double-digit niches filled.
On planets no not realy. An element is define by its number of protons and we have discovered all elements up to 118 protons. But every element with such high and even higher protons is incredibly unstable, so it decays in miliseconds or less. Now there is the possiblity that other elements are created with the merger of neutron stars but those will also decay very fast.
Any hypothetical element heavier than Oganesson (atomic number 118) would be so incredibly unstable/radioactive that it would’ve decayed within seconds of being formed. As such, the answer is “**no**” regardless of how young any given planet was.
The short answer is, not really. The longer answer is:
As you might now, every atom is comprised of a certain number of protons, neutrons and electrons. The amount of protons an atom has is called the atomic number, and is what defines an atom’s element: an atom with 1 proton will always be hydrogen, an atom with 6 protons will always be carbon, etc. Now, if you look at the periodic table, you’ll notice we have every number from 1 to 118 covered; that means we’ve discovered every element from 1 to 118 protons. The larger the atom, the more unstable it is; in fact, some of the heaviest elements can only be created in lab, and only for moments. Elements such as Oganesson (the 118 one) are unable to persist for long before they quite simply fall apart.
So, given that we know all of the stable elements, and have created many of the unstable ones, the idea that we will discover new elements out in the wild is unlikely. What we could discover, however, are new biological compounds and minerals; different mixes of various elements.
There is no space left in the table for any stable elements, we have identified all of those now and the only one left are super theoretical like super-lead (elements past 118 are theorised but haven’t been made, super lead is believed to exist around 170 I think)
Star trek stuff like Dilithiun and Benemite will not exist as elements but there is space for new and unusual compounds and minerals that may exist in conditions completely alien to us here – just without the space warping magic sadly
Just adding on to what’s been said here, many physicists think there may be a theoretical “island of stability” with certain isotopes of super heavy elements. Though none have been created/discovered at this point.
In theory, yes. Given the infinite size of the universe, it is possible for the correct conditions to exist to create heavier elements. It’s still not likely as most of these elements are unstable and tend to break down into more stable elements.
Other problems come up from this scenario, however. Like the conditions for those elements to be created may be hostile to life/technology, or the elements would need to be created in a high enough volume to still exist by the time we could visit. Our technology can’t see exoplanets but assumes their existence usually by detecting wobble or variations in detected light output that repeat. All of this would mean it is extremely unlikely to find.
If you are imagining something like earth but with the addition of one element we just haven’t found yet on earth, no that’s not really possible. We have exhaustively identified every element.
There does exist 2 possibilities, however they are extremely unlikely. One is that there are heavier elements that are unexpectedly stable. Maybe 212 protons is stable (we’ve checked up to 118?). Maybe there is some unknown cosmological event that creates this element?
The other possibility is there is a place/region of space where there are physics at play we haven’t figured out/discovered. Maybe a place where dark matter is dense enough that it condensed into some solid form that can interact with regular matter? Or maybe it’s possible to combine quarks or something in a different way we’ve never seen before?
But for what I think the heart of your question is, then no, as far as we know it’s not possible.
Its unlikely that we will find new elements on other planets.
All Matter is made of the same basic ingredients, protons neutrons and electrons. There are only so many configurations of x protons, y neutrons and z electrons which produce viable atoms.
We can model those atoms out and make some guesses about their properties, and we also know that there is an upper limit of how heavy an atom can get. All possible configurations have already either been made or atleast been predicted by models.
To truly find a new element we would need to find a new basic ingredient that could be used to make atoms. So far our math predicts there isnt one.
Possible, yes. We can’t prove there are no other stable elements anywhere in the universe. But the elements we have discovered past lead on the periodic table are all unstable to some degree, and the new ones we synthesize last less than a second before decaying into something else. The protons repel each other, and past a certain point, the nuclear forces that hold them together are weaker than that repulsion. If there is a heavier, stable element, it would require something holding it together than humanity has not yet discovered.
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