New Elements
The quest for new elements is usually described using atomic numbers. As of 2010, elements with atomic numbers 1 to 118 have been observed. Synthesis of new elements is accomplished by bombarding target atoms of heavy elements with ions, such that the sum of the atomic numbers of the target and ion elements equals the atomic number of the element being created. In general, the half-life becomes shorter as atomic number increases, though an "island of stability" may exist for undiscovered isotopes with certain numbers of protons and neutrons.
Read more about this topic: Atomic Number
Famous quotes containing the word elements:
“The popularity of that baby-faced boy, who possessed not even the elements of a good actor, was a hallucination in the public mind, and a disgrace to our theatrical history.”
—Thomas Campbell (1777–1844)
“But all subsists by elemental strife;
And Passions are the elements of Life.”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)