2023-10-26 04:00:14
Asteroids might hide secrets that even the periodic table has not yet revealed. A surprising phenomenon has been observed: certain asteroids display a density exceeding that of any known element on Earth (Earth is the third planet in the Solar System in order of distance…).
What does asteroid 33 Polyhymnia look like? Nobody knows, yet.
The team of Jan Rafelski, from the Department of Physics at the University of Arizona, hypothesizes that these asteroids might be made up of of superheavy elements, whose atomic number (Z) exceeds the limits of our current periodic table. According to the Thomas-Fermi model, these elements would be found in an “island of stability nuclear (The term nuclear energy covers two meanings depending on the context :)” around Z=164.
Superheavy elements are divided into two groups. Those with an atomic number between 105 and 118 are known but unstable. Elements with Z>118 have not yet been observed, but some of their properties have been predicted. Their density would be extreme, consistent with the density observed for asteroids like 33 Polyhymnia, located between Mars and Jupiter, which has a density of around 75 g/cm³. For comparison, iron has a density of 7.8 g/cm³, lead has a density of 7.8 g/cm³, with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. family of crystallogens, with symbol Pb and…) 11.3 g/cm³ and uranium (Uranium is a chemical element with symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a…) 19.1 g/cm³.
The researchers, including students Evan LaForge and Will Price, also considered even more exotic substances, such as alpha matter, made up entirely of helium nuclei. atomic 2, it…) isolated. They estimate that stable elements with Z=164 would have a density between 36.0 and 68.4 g/cm³, close to the expected value for the asteroid Polyhymnia.
The results raise fascinating questions for those considering exploiting asteroids’ resources. They suggest the presence of still unknown materials on Earth, fueling interest in future “space miners”.
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#space #object #unknown #matter #nonexistent #periodic #table #elements
