Eli5: Is it possible that there are elements on other planets, we don’t have on earth and haven’t discover yet?
In: Chemistry
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.
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