Why

[james_davis_nicoll]

Do SF authors make up new elements? The elements don't seem to be in Seaborg's island of stability, either.

Actually, what I really mean is why would the sort of person who can't be bothered to look at a table of elements or think about the general decline in half-lives as atomic mass increases past a certain point bother with SF? What's the attraction for them?

Comments

Re: Actually

[rwpikul.livejournal.com]

Well, not having been able to get any has more to do with not having found a reaction which will produce the potentially stable isotopes in the first place. Thus far there has only been a dozen or so atoms of ununquadium produced, (all in the 286-289 mass range, not the possibly stable 298), there have been claims of 2 atoms of unbinulium, (again too light to be stable), and no unbihexium has been produced.

For natural production, remember that most natural production of heavy elements is by neutron bombardment and that getting to the island means running a gauntlet of mili and microsecond half lives. It might not be possible to get there even with the r-process.

Re: Actually

[(Anonymous)]

I thought that was what I said? The technology's not there yet. (And perhaps never will be.) Not enough neutrons, and no easy way to get them in there.

Natural production, sure, very very very unlikely. But that hasn't stopped people from looking. After all, finding some would put you on the short list for a free trip to Stockholm.

IMS there's one guy -- an Israeli? -- who has claimed success a couple of times now. But nobody's ever been able to duplicate his results.


Doug M.