How did nuclear elements form and why are they so powerful?
In: Planetary Science
Not a scientist but it’s related to the number of electrons in the outer shell.
When a supernova happens the energy produced is that high protons overcome their repulsion and are smashed together. At some point in the 18th century it was found out that different elements were just different quantities of protons, neutrons and electrons where protons and electrons are equal in number to form an atom with no electric charge. Bohr (along with a few others) then found out that the way the electrons were configured were in distinct shells of quanta around the nucleus.
Due to the maximum number of electrons found in these shells it was found that there are certain elements with slightly more electrons than what would fit in a shell. As natural processes dictate that full shells are more stable and require less energy to keep the same than none full shells, the atom then wants to get into a stable configuration.
To do this it emits various particles which are radioactive and over time the element transforms from an unstable one to a more stable one.
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