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Recently the IUPAC added four new elements to the periodic table and it seems the race for discovering new elements is just getting faster. I was wondering if a "last element" exists; an element with so great an atomic number that it would be impossible to make anything larger.

There should probably be a bound placed on the maximum number of protons in an atom by quantum theory. Because, elements with extraordinarily large an atomic number should become so unstable that it would impossible for them to come into existence(in theory).

I do not know quantum theory so I am not sure; but is there such a possibility? Or the number of elements created is just limited by our current technology and the energy of our particle colliders meaning that this race will never end?

Martin - マーチン
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Abdur Rahman
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  • @Martin-マーチン You are basically saying I asked an already answered question and that too on the wrong site? Well, at least, thanks for being polite. – Abdur Rahman Mar 08 '16 at 09:17
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    No that is not what I am saying. I am saying that questions regarding that topic in general have been asked before, here (it is on topic), but also on physics. I regret I am not a specialist on that, so I couldn't give you related information that you can dig in until someone else finds the time to answer. My comment was in no way critique. However, this question still might be on interest to you. – Martin - マーチン Mar 08 '16 at 09:21
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    @Martin-マーチン that feels like a direct duplicate to me :/ – orthocresol Mar 08 '16 at 10:33
  • @AbdurRahman Please have a look at the island of stability and you might find a good starting point for further investigations. – pH13 - Yet another Philipp Mar 08 '16 at 12:29

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