Elements - Question for the Chemists

No, there are only so many building blocks. They can only be put together so many ways. The only ones not listed are even more dense. And the ones on the end are not naturally occurring... we had to help them. The table is the table. There are a ton of theories out there, but I have yet to hear there are other elements we do not know about. Now particles... that's a whole other discussion... but elements, I think that one is settled... I think.

Sorry, but it's extremely likely that every STABLE element in the universe is known and on the table.  Elements are defined by the number of protons in their nucleus and we've figured all of them out from one up to 118 or so I think.  92 - Uranium is the last naturally occurring one (I think). We'll probably add a few more man-made ones to the table, but theory says we can't go any higher than 137 because then the electrons would be going faster than the speed of light which is a physics no-no.

Also - FWIW - every atom in the solar system except for hydrogen, helium and lithium was created in the explosion of a super-nova - stars that existed before our sun and which our solar system formed from.  Every atom in your body was created in the center of a star.

PSS - We already know of life forms that use things other than O2 for respiration.  There are many kinds of microbes which live in anaerobic environments (no oxygen) which use other things such as sulfur, nitrate (NO3) or Iron instead of O2. O2 yields more energy though, so that's why it's preferred where its available. There's some thought that organisms somewhere else in the universe could use silicon instead of carbon as the building blocks for life, but as far as we understand life on earth it won't work for a variety of reasons.  But I don't think you could rule it out a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

So do I get a free lesson for that answer?

You should go post here now.

TW

Well put answers to these questions.  The matter that is in every single one of us has nothing to do with our star, except for the fact that it orbits it and was formed from the same nebula.

We can create new elements, but they are unstable.  There are (at least I believe) different forms of matter, but that's a whole different ball game getting into that.  What you see on the periodic table is what you get.

There is certainly the possibility of life using other forms of respiration (as mentioned)  The one thing I have a hard time believing life could live with out is liquid water.  Water is the universal solvent.  For life things need to move, nutrients, wastes, energy, and there is nothing that we know of that is better then water.

Even if life is rare, which it probably is you have to take into account the size of the universe.  There are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, there are 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe.  Whats 100 billion times 100 billion?  A pretty big number.  Statistically it would be improbable to have life on only one of them.

But what if our understanding of what makes a unique element is flawed?  Why couldn't there be an atom with 9.5 electrons and neutrons?  My point is that we are viewing the universe from our current understanding of what makes it tick.  100 years ago, cars were rarely driven above 30 mph.  What do you think scientists will think of our periodic table in 400 years.

Protons.  I meant to say "protons"

Because it isn't. Energy could have been converted millions of years ago to propel a car over 30 mph, it just took us a while to figure it out. But the physics is the same.

You need to understand the periodic table. One proton all the way up to 118... add neutrons for stability or different isotopes. Electrons form in shells bound by their rules... keep adding them up... you get isotopes of elements that are unstable and decay radioactively. Split U235 and you get cesium 137 and some other stuff. It's all just legos.

All you can do is keep adding... but they do not exist naturally, and they are unstable. So the periodic table is pretty much set. Let's eat.

Life as has been said has other theories. Planes of existence has theories. Particle physics has theories. Dark matter and energy states have theories... But elements, we have those figured out.

Tell me more about dark matter.  Planes of existence.  There is no possibility that we look back in 500 years and say, "Elements?  They thought that elements were the way to classify matter?"

chemical engineer, not a chemist, just to clarify.

so yes, we probably have all the stable elements catalogued.  the numbers on the table?  they represent the number of electrons.  you can't get smaller than an electron - you can only have a discrete number.  every single number is represented up until you start getting into man-made.  not a single gap in the whole list.  sorry...stick to golf :-P

I understand the question, I just think you are using a poor example. The PT is just a list. Perhaps we understand how to better manipulate those block later... but the blocks make what the blocks make.

Now, we used to think all there was was protons, neutrons, and electrons... but those sub atomic particles are made up of other particles. The more we look the more we find. The Boson Higgs particle was theory for a long time, but we finally proved it existed. It is theorized that space is not actually empty...it is full. Full of dark matter that we do not yet understand. Just like we did not understand air. Star Trek's warp drives made a "wave" and surfed it. So I have no problem thinking that we will some day find out more about matter and energy and learn to manipulate it better. But the blocks are still the blocks.

Isn't there a type of crab on earth that has a copper-based cell structure?

And caffeine.

The biggest hurdle to using silicon would be that when carbon is oxidized (such as when we burn glucose for energy), CO2 is produced, which goes into the blood, then the lungs and then diffuses away into the air since it's a gas.  When silicon is oxidized it forms SiO2 which is a solid, which would make getting rid of the waste products really hard for an organism.  It'd be way cool if something found a way to do it though.

One of those crazy facts is that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand in every beach and desert on earth.  If that doesn't blow your mind nothing will.  With those odds, there's got to be something else out there somewhere...