Monday, June 17, 2013

Cracks in the Periodic Table

Scientific American discusses Cracks in the Periodic Table "The discovery of element 117 filled the last remaining gap in the periodic table as we know it. But even as it is being completed, the table may be losing its power"

The headline really just refers to the superheavy elements but the article gives nice examples and discusses the blurring of physics and chemistry. Turns out, as elements get bigger there are relativistic effects on the inner electron orbits that change the chemistry of the element.

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