• Question: how do you discover a heavy element?

    Asked by anon-230719 to William, Thibaut "Tibo", Harry, Georgia, Emily, Aimee on 15 Nov 2019.
    • Photo: Aimee Egglestone

      Aimee Egglestone answered on 15 Nov 2019:

      Hi, this isn’t really my field so I’m not sure I can give you a proper answer! However, this video might help!

    • Photo: William Wiseman

      William Wiseman answered on 15 Nov 2019:

      Heavy elements are created by taking a starting element – Plutonium for example) and hitting it with other elements in an attempt to make them stick together. The issue is, the heavier the element, the more unstable they become and even if they are successful, it may only exist for a fraction of a second.

    • Photo: Thibaut Deviese

      Thibaut Deviese answered on 16 Nov 2019:

      Instead of discovering them, scientists do create heavy elements by bombarding two lighter elements that together add up to the mass of the desired new element.

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