Old article, but still cool. I only know about physics from pulp sci-fi novels but the "Island of stability" makes me wonder if sci-fi exotic materials sufficient to make megastructures might actually be possible.
Old article, but still cool. I only know about physics from pulp sci-fi novels but the "Island of stability" makes me wonder if sci-fi exotic materials sufficient to make megastructures might actually be possible.
Element 118 (Oganesson) has since been recognized after this article was published, and yeah it has a slight stabilizing effect around where the island of stability is supposed to be. It's also incredibly weird. It's the seventh noble gas, but models seem to suggest it's a solid in normal conditions and might have a metallic appearance. It's also possibly reactive. Chemistry starts to get weird after 94 protons.
The problem with the island of stability is that the superheavy atoms with the right number of neutrons will exist for maybe 0.05 seconds instead of 0.0000001 seconds.
undersea foothill of stability
Does that mean that sometime very soon Musk will claim that he's invented a limited island of stability element?