Concept of Atomic Number Led to the Synthesis of New Elements in the Laboratory
atomic number - is the number of protons (positively charged particles) in an atom.
Henry Gwyn-Jeffreys Moseley was an English physicist who demonstrated that the atomic
number, the number of protons in an atom, determines most of the properties of an
element.
In 1919, Ernest Rutherford successfully carried out a nuclear transmutation
nuclear transmutation reaction a process of transforming one element or isotope into
another element.
In 1925, there were four vacancies in the periodic table corresponding to the atomic
numbers 43, 61, 85, and 87.
A particle accelerator is a device that is used to speed up the protons to overcome the
repulsion between the protons and the target atomic nuclei by using magnetic and
electrical fields. It is used to synthesize new elements.
Elements with atomic numbers greater than 92 (atomic number of uranium) are called
transuranium elements They were discovered in the laboratory using nuclear reactors or
particle accelerators.
Dmitri Mendeleev created a classification of elements based on their atomic weight.
x-ray spectroscopy - method of identifying elements by shooting electrons and looking at
x-rays
Discovery of Nuclear Transmutation
O-17 – isotope of Oxygen, first nuclide to be prepared by artificial means. It was made by
Ernest Rutherford in 1919 by bombarding nitrogen atoms with α particles
James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, as a previously unknown neutral
particle produced along with 12C by the nuclear reaction between 9Be and 4He
Technetium (Tc) - first element to be prepared that does not occur naturally on the earth,
was created by bombardment of molybdenum by deuterons (heavy hydrogen, H12), by
Emilio Segre and Carlo Perrier in 1937
The first controlled nuclear chain reaction was carried out in a reactor at the University of
Chicago in 1942.
The Discovery of the Missing Elements
Element 43 and 85 – discovered using particle accelerator
Ernest Lawrence – synthesized element with atomic #43 using linear particle accelerator.
Atomic #43 Technetium (Tc) –“technetos” meaning “artificial”, first man made element
Atomic #85 Astatine (At) – “astatos” meaning “unstable”. Discovered by Dale Corson, K.
Mackenzie, and Emilio Segre in 1940 using cyclotron.
Cyclotron - is a particle accelerator that uses alternating electric field to accelerate
particles that move in a spiral path in the presence of a magnetic field.
Atomic #61 Promethium (Pm) – decay product of fission of Uranium
Atomic #87 Francium (Fr) – breakdown product of Uranium.
Chemical Evolution of the Universe
Chemical Evolution
Low-mass stars synthesize `new’ He, C, O during the main-sequence, RGB, HB and AGB
phases.
Chemical Evolution II
For more massive stars, `equilibrium’ fusion reactions produce elements all the way up to
Fe.
Chemical Evolution III
Equilibrium fusion reactions of light elements don’t proceed past Fe because of Fe’s
location at the peak of the curve of binding energy.
Neutron Capture Elements
The S-process - The S-process stands for the Slow addition of neutrons to nuclei. The
addition of a no produces heavier isotope of a particular element. However, if an electron
is emitted (this is called beta-decay), the nucleus moves one step up the periodic table.
The S-process can produce elements up to #83 - Bismuth.
The R-process is the Rapid addition of neutrons to existing nuclei. Rapid here means that
many neutrons are added before a beta-decay occurs.
The Transuranic Elements
In the 1930s, the heaviest element known was uranium, with an atomic number 92.
Early in 1940, Edwin McMillan proved that an element having an atomic number 93could
be created.
Atomic #93 Neptunium (Np) – created through the bombardment of uranium with
neutrons
Transuranic elements are synthetic elements with atomic numbers higher than that of
Uranium (Z = 92).
Atomic #94 Plutonium (Pu) - was synthesized by Seaborg, McMillan, Kennedy, and Wahl.
They bombarded uranium with deuterons (particles composed of a proton and a neutron)
in a cyclotron.
The Superheavy Elements
Superheavy elements are elements with atomic numbers beyond 103. These are produced
by bombarding heavy nuclear targets with accelerated heavy projectiles.
The first naturally occurring unstable element that was isolated, polonium, was discovered
by the Polish scientist Marie Curie and her husband Pierre in 1898.
