Physical Sciences: Concept of

Atomic Number that Led to

the Synthesis of New
Elements in the Laboratory
 Elements
are made up of tiny particles, the neutron, proton and electron
H and Helium are the elements that exist in the early
beginning
As the Universe expanded and cooled, there was a
period of proton-proton chain reaction wherein
protons were fuse into Helium
 Key stages

01
SINGULARITY
02
INFLATION
An infinite small space contains an Sudden and rapid
infinite density and gravity expansion of space

03 04
RECOMBINATION
NUCLEOSYSNTHESIS
Formation of atoms via nuclear Formation of elements like
fusion Hydrogen and Helium
Activity I.I Making Your Own
Periodic Table
Make your own periodic table using the hypothetical elements that are
given in the clues. Explain the word/s that will be formed if you arrange
the symbols of the elements correctly

a. P and Pr both have one electron each. Pr has a bigger atomic size.
b. Od, Ri, and E are in the same series as P, C, and I. In terms of atomic
size, P is the biggest while C is the smallest. E is a metal while I is a non-
metal. Od is smaller than Ri in atomic size.
c. O has a bigger atomic size than E in the same group. Y is also a bigger
atom than C in the same group. R is more nonmetallic than Pe but
more metallic than Ti.
Key Points
• The 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 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. Elements with atomic numbers 43 and 85 were synthesized
using particle accelerators.
• 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
➢ Arrange elements according to their
atomic weight
➢ Showed periodic changes across the
elements
➢ Left gaps for element that were not
yet discovered
➢ He found that organizing the
elements at the time by their
calculated weight demonstrated a
periodic pattern of both physical and
chemical properties, such as luster,
physical state, reactivity to water, and
His table showed inconsistency on
some elements.

Anomalous pairs (Nickel & Cobalt ,

Tellurium & Iodine)

CU and Ag in alkali Metals

Isotopes-Atoms with the same number

of protons but different numbers of
neutrons
 Henry Moseley
➢ Through x-Ray spectroscopy ,he
discovered that elements have a
unique number of potons.
➢ Arrange elements according to
their atomic number
➢ This arrangement provide a
more consistent periodic
changes in the periodic table.
Mendeleev provided the framework of arranging the
element

Mosley improve the periodic table and solve the

inconsistencies of Mendeleev’s periodic table

After Mendeleev's attempt to develop the aperiodic table,

scientific research, especially in the field of chemistry has
became more lively
Moseley noticed that shooting
electrons at elements caused
them to release x-rays at
unique frequencies. He also
noticed that the frequency
increased by a certain amount
when the “positive charge” of
the chosen element was higher.
Atomic
number

symbol
Name

Atomic
weight
 Discovery of Nuclear Transmutation
In 1919, Ernest Rutherford successfully carried out a nuclear transmutation reaction
— a reaction involving the transformation of one element or isotope into another
element. The first nuclide to be prepared by artificial means was an isotope of oxygen,
17O. It was made by Ernest Rutherford in 1919 by bombarding nitrogen atoms with α
particles:

However, both alpha particles and atomic nuclei are positively charged, so they tend
to repel each other. Therefore, instead of using fast-moving alpha particles in
synthesizing new elements, atomic nuclei are often bombarded with neutrons
(neutral particles) in particle accelerators.
 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:
The first element to be prepared that does not occur naturally on the
earth, technetium, 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. One of the many
reactions involved was:
 The Discovery of the Missing Element

Recall that in 1925, there were four vacancies in the

periodic table corresponding to the atomic numbers 43, 61,
85, and 87. Two of these elements were synthesized in the
laboratory using particle accelerators.
Particle accelerator
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
1937, American physicist Ernest
Lawrence synthesized element with
atomic number 43 using a linear
particle accelerator. He bombarded
molybdenum (Z=42) with fast-
moving neutrons.
The newly synthesized element was
named Technetium (Tc) after the
Greek word "technêtos" meaning
“artificial.” Tc was the first man-
made element.
In 1940, Dale Corson, K. Mackenzie, and
Emilio Segre discovered element with
atomic number 85. They bombarded
atoms of bismuth (Z=83) with fastmoving
alpha particles in a cyclotron.
A 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. Element-85
was named astatine from the Greek word
“astatos” meaning unstable.
The two other elements with atomic
numbers 61 and 87 were discovered
through studies in radioactivity. Element-
61 (Promethium) was discovered as a
decay product of the fission of uranium
while element-87 (Francium) was
discovered as a breakdown product of
uranium.
The Synthesis of the Elements

The invention of the device called cyclotron

paved the way for transmuting one element
into another artificially. The high-energy
particles that are produced from the cyclotron
upon hitting heavy target nuclei produce
heavier nuclei. The Universe ran into the Be
problem. Red giant cores get past this via the
Triple-Alpha process, but the Universe
expands right through this possibility and the
density/temperature are quickly too low to
synthesis any additional elements.
 Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
❑ The oldest stars in the Galaxy are
deficient in the abundance of
elements heavier than Helium (but
show the predicted amount of He)
❑ The current record holder has Fe/H
about 130,000 times smaller than the
solar value.
The oldest star in the universe is HD140283 —
❑ Not quite down to Big Bang or Methuselah as it's commonly known.
abundances, but we are getting
pretty close and still looking.
 Chemical Evolution
❑ Low-mass stars synthesize `new’ He, C, O during the mainsequence,
RGB, HB and AGB phases.
❑ These freshly minted elements are brought to the surface via
convection and redistributed via stellar winds and planetary nebulae
into the interstellar medium to be incorporated into later generations
of stars
 Chemical Evolution II

❑ For more massive stars,

`equilibrium’ fusion reactions
produce elements all the way up
to Fe.
❑ Freshly made elements are
delivered via stellar winds or,
sometimes more spectacularly
via supernova explosions
 Chemical Evolution III

What about the trans-Fe elements?

❑ 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.
❑ However, in certain circumstances, supernovae for example,
nonequilibrium reactions can build elements beyond Fe in the Periodic
Table. Many of these are radioactive, but some are stable.
 Neutron Capture Elements

• There are two principle paths to building the

elements heavier than Fe. Both use the addition of
neutrons to existing `seed’ nuclei (neutrons have no
charge so are much easier to add to positivelycharged
nuclei).

S-process (slow addition of neutrons)

R-process (rapid addition of neutrons)
 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 betadecay), the
nucleus moves one step up the periodic table.
❑ `Slow’ here means that rate of no captures is low compared to the
beta-decay rate.
❑ It really is slow. Sometimes 100’s of years go by between neutron
captures. The s-process acting in the range from Ag to Sb
❑ The S-process can produce elements up to #83 -
Bismuth. There are peaks in the Solar System
abundance of heavy elements at 38Sr, 56Ba and
82Pb. These are easily understood in the context of
the S-process and `magic’ numbers of neutrons.
❑ The site of the S-process is AGB start during and between
shell flashes. The no source is a by-product of C13+He4 -
> O16
❑ 43Tc is an s-process nucleus and proof that it is in
operation in AGB stars

AGB-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

The R-process
• The R-process is the Rapid addition of neutrons to
existing nuclei. Rapid here means that many neutrons are
added before a betadecay occurs.
• First build up a VERY heavy isotope, then, as beta-
decays occur, you march up in atomic number and
produce the REALLY HEAVY STUFF.
• For this to happen, a big burst of neutrons is needed.
The most promising place with the right conditions is in a
SNII explosion right above the collapsed core.
❑ We see an overabundance of R-process elements in
the oldest stars. As the early chemical enrichment
of the Galaxy was through SNII, this is evidence of
SNII as the source of r-process elements.
❑ If we look at the Crab Nebula or other SNII
remnants we don’t see r-process elements.
❑ We DO see regions of enhanced O, Si, Ne and He
which appear to reflect the `onion skin’ structure of
the massive star progenitor.
1Diagram (How R-Process Occur) Crab Nebula
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/multimedia/cr
ab_ nebula.htm
 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. He used a
particle accelerator to bombard
uranium with neutrons and created
an element with an atomic number
93 which he named neptunium
At the end of 1940, element-
94 was synthesized by
Seaborg, McMillan, Kennedy,
and Wahl. They bombarded
uranium with deuterons
(particles composed of a
proton and a neutron) in a
cyclotron. Element-94 was
named plutonium.
Elements with atomic numbers greater than 92
(atomic number of uranium) are called transuranium
elements. Hence, neptunium and plutonium are both
transuranium elements. They are unstable and decay
radioactively into other elements. All these elements
were discovered in the laboratory as artificially
generated synthetic elements. They are prepared
using nuclear reactors or particle accelerators.
 Stellar nucleosynthesis

This is the process by which elements are created within

stars by combining the protons and neutrons together
from the nuclei of lighter elements. Fusion inside stars
transforms hydrogen into helium, heat, and radiation.
Heavier elements are created in different types of stars as
they die or explode.
 The Super heavy 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. It
decays, emitting particles
Create a timeline using
illustrations and text showing
on how elements form with
the concept of atomic
number.