Protons do not like to stay very close to each other for a long time. But if you have the right number perfectly balanced between enough neutrons, they may form an atom that will not collapse in the blink of an eye.
Theorists suggested that 114 could be such a “magic” number of protons, but a recent experiment at the GSI Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Germany makes this incredibly unlikely.
In 1998, Russian experimenters finally managed to build an element with 114 protons in the nucleus. It was later renamed flerovium after its birthplace, the Flerov Nuclear Reactions Laboratory of the Joint Nuclear Research Institute.
The creation of atoms the size of a mammoth is not at all easy, it is only achieved by starting with heavy elements such as plutonium and peeling them with slightly smaller ones, such as calcium, until paste something.
By “sticks,” we mean “pauses long enough to technically pass to an atom,” which for mountain-sized nuclei rarely exceeds the fraction of a second. For example, with 112 protons in size, the transuranic element of Copernicus has little chance of lasting more than 280 microseconds.
Atomic nucleons hold together as an effect of the strong force shared between the trios of subatomic quarks that form them.
At the same time, the repulsive nature of the positive charges of the protons separates them, that is, the whole structure overturns on the verge of collapse, in case they get too close. This is why we see some combinations of nucleons or isotopes more often than others.
Once an atom reaches a certain size, many other factors related to energy and mass also weigh, making it increasingly difficult for the atom to hold together, if not harder. physicists predict their characteristics.
However, physicists are confident that there are islands of stability at the top of the periodic table, where proton arrangements can form patterns and shapes that allow them to withstand life a little longer than neighboring elements.
Nihoni, or element 113, has an isotope with a half-life of about 20 seconds, for example.
However, when the signs of flerovi were first sifted through a rubble of plutonium and calcium more than 20 years ago, he looked like a true guardian. The signing of the data suggests that the atoms remained stable for 30 seconds before spitting out an alpha particle and crumbling briefly in Copernicus.
The illusion did not last long. In 2009, Berkeley scientists were able to recreate two different isotopes of the element. One lasted a tenth of a second. The second held around a longer touch, which broke after half a second.
The odds didn’t look good for item 114, but physicists aren’t the types to leave it well enough. Thus, the University of Mainz grew large, with up-to-date detectors to study dozens of possible events of disintegration of the fleece.
In the end, two were confirmed as isotopes in good faith. One resulted in a Copernicus isotope that was broken in a way that had not been observed before.
In this case, the disintegration chain of the flerovi occurred within 2.4 seconds, in an alpha particle spill. The second isotope had disappeared in 52.6 milliseconds. It is important to note that the effective mode of decay of each of the two isotopes made it clear that 114 was not a stable minimum.
As exciting as a stable floret might have been, new discoveries of an excited state of Copernicus provide solid ground for exploring islands of stability above the periodic table, providing theorists with vital information to model this phenomenon.
“The existence of the state provides another anchor point for nuclear theory, because it seems to require an understanding of the coexistence of forms and form transitions for heavier elements,” the researchers point out in their report.
While we can now rule out 114 as one of the magic numbers on the periodic table, there are still more giants to kill.
Physicists have not yet created the hypothetical element provisionally called unbinilium, or element 120. The creation of one of these monsters would require powerful technology and advanced knowledge of nuclear physics.
There are plans in place to push the limits of atomic masses, with RIKEN in Japan constantly advancing to its Nishina accelerator-based science center, so you may not have to wait long.
Like ancient explorers, researchers are still confident that there are stable islands on the horizon. We are bound to see some mirages along the way.
This research was published in Physical review letters.