Since element numbers are based on protons, why can’t they just add more to discover element 119, 120, etc?
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Protons are positively charged so they repel each other. The more protons you pack in a nucleus, the harder they push each other apart. At some point, the pushing force becomes too strong to be held in together by the nuclear binding energy and become unstable and undergoing radioactive decay. By element 106, the nucleus is already too unstable and would decay in a matter of seconds.
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