There are also some unknown elements like unseptium(spelling may be wrong). How can they be discovered if they have no existence?
2006-09-04 20:58:53 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
They may have no natural existence, but that doesn't mean that you can't make them artificially, usually by bombarding a heavy nucleus with other heavy nuclei. The first artificial element made was neptumium, created by bombarding uranium with neutrons in a nuclear reactor. The neptunium is quite unstable, and decays into plutonium, which is sort of stable. (Tiny quantities of plutonium are found in nature, because there are a few loose neutrons around which can cause this in the same way as in a reactor.) Other artificial elements were created by further neutron bombardment, but for the really big ones you need to use something bigger.
Nuclear fission creates a host of elements, along with neutrons. Among the elements found in fission products were those now called promethium and technetium, both of which filled gaps in the periodic table. Neither is found in nature, as all of the isotopes of each are unstable. So, these also qualify as artificial elements.
2006-09-04 21:10:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are created in linear accelerators. Basically, common
elements are slammed together at high energies and they fuse
together to form artificial elements.
Yes, they have no existence. So when compared to a database of all the known elements, it would come up as a "no match".
Thus it is assumed that it is an artificial element, and the scientists that created it would give it a temporary name.
2006-09-05 04:01:58 · answer #2 · answered by maczh2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The artificial elements are created either by bombarding heavy nuclei (like actinides) with neutrons; or by bombarding a heavy nuclei with a lighter nuclei (e.g. transition metal).
I'm also giving the list of the new transiactinide elements after lawrencium (103):
Rutherfordium(104) Rf
Dubnium(105) Db
Seaborgium(106) Sg
Bohrium(107)Bh
Hassium(108) Hs
Meitnerium(109) Mt
Darmstadtium (110)Ds
Rontgenium(111) Rg
2006-09-05 04:25:04 · answer #3 · answered by goodwin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As the name suggests, they are artificial elements. They are not discovered. They are arrived upon aritificially.
They come into existence usually when an experiment goes wrong.
2006-09-05 04:17:07 · answer #4 · answered by cooldude 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All answers are good but this is my simplification.
The artificial element are created in laboratory they are not there to be discovered.
Radioactivity is used to create them in a nuclear reactor.
They do not occur naturally and are created artificially, hence artificial elements.
2006-09-05 15:27:30 · answer #5 · answered by minootoo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋