Article ID: CBB177176432

On the Ontology of Superheavy Elements (2017)

unapi

The study of so-called superheavy elements with atomic numbers Z > 102 has for several decades been a major research field in nuclear physics and chemistry. Presently all elements up to and including Z = 118 have been discovered and assigned official names by IUPAC. To speak of “discovery” is however unfortunate since the elements are in reality produced, manufactured or created in the laboratory. They are not found in nature. Moreover, it is not obvious that they exist in the normal sense of the term or that they can be called elements at all. Apart from sketching the history of transuranic and superheavy elements, the paper focuses on some of the philosophical issues which are relevant to the synthesis of very heavy elements at the end of the periodic table. In addition, the relationship between superheavy elements and exotic atoms (such as anti-atoms and muonic atoms) are briefly considered.

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Authors & Contributors
Scerri, Eric R.
Mebrahtu, Gebrekidan
Maar, Juergen Heinrich
Kostecka, Keith Simeon
Maar, Alexander
Moreno-Martínez, Luis
Concepts
Chemistry
Chemical elements
Periodic system of the elements; periodic table
Philosophy of science
Classification
Education, Chemical
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
21st century
18th century
20th century, early
Places
Ethiopia
Spain
Russia
Portugal
Norway
Institutions
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
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