Superheavy elements like element 114

[rubix]

Why is element 114 supposed to be stable and why exactly is it considered to have the "magic number" of protons/neutrons? (It has 114 protons and 184 neutrons)

Also, scientists have recently created element 118 which immediately decays into 116 and then to 114 and then to 112 and so on. So does this mean scientists have been wrong all along about element 114 being a stable superheavy element? (Or as they call it, "an island of stabilty")

Finally, let's say we did create a stable superheavy element of some sort, that lasted for thousands of years. What exactly can be done with this element? Can new materials be created from it?

 

[bobsmith1492]

By 'stable' they most likely mean its half life is an order of magnitude of say 3 greater than the other superheavy synthetics. These have half lives of some insanely small times like picoseconds or less, so even a 'stable' 114 might only last a nanosecond.

 

[MadMan2k]

superheavy element?

hmm, they'd probably use it to make cheap bikes.

sorry, couldn't resist 😛


How heavy are those elements? 50x the weight of iron or so?

 

[sao123]

So does this mean scientists have been wrong all along about element 114 being a stable superheavy element?

Not necessarily. The 114 element created during the decay of 118 is only 1 isotope of element 114. The stable version of element 114 will have a different number of neutrons. Without being too deep (cuz that would require further research) Nuclear particles fill shells (in the nucleas) similar to the way electrons do. If you compare 2 nuclei with the same number of protons and differing number of neutrons, they have a different stability factor, because of the energy state of nucleas filled/unfilled shells.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: MadMan2k
How heavy are those elements? 50x the weight of iron or so?

Consult your local periodic table.

 

[MobiusPizza]

Well weight also depends on the density of the element itself. Water is quite heavy considering its equivilant atomic mass is only 18, because water is very dense.

Well in general since heavy element mentioned is metal, and so is Iron, the density is pretty much not a great concern. According to peordic table the relative atomic mass of an element 114 would be about twice of the relative atomic mass of Iron, which is about 52 if I recalled corectly