Synthesis of

New Elements
in the
Laboratory
Prepared by: Ms. Ronalyn C. Tesorio
Stellar Nucleosynthesis
We have discussed that the lighter
elements from Hydrogen to Iron were
formed through stellar nucleosynthesis
in the cosmos or simply, space after the
events of the Big Bang.
However, there are elements that need so much
energy that it needs to be recreated in the
laboratory in a controlled environment in order
to be recorded here on our planet.

This does not mean that these heaviest elements

are not possible in space—they are but their life
span can only last for a such a little time before
ceasing to exist which makes obtaining evidence of
them hard.
 Vocabulary Words
Synthetic Elements
It refers to the chemical elements formed in a
laboratory through certain, man-controlled processes.

The first, technetium, was created in 1937.

• Plutonium, atomic number 94, first synthesized in
1940, is another such element. It is the element with
the largest number of protons to occur in nature, but
it does so in such tiny quantities that it is far more
practical to synthesize it.
Synthetic Elements Rare radioactive natural elements; often
produced artificially
 Transuranium Elements
• The transuranium elements (also known as transuranic
elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers
greater than 92, which is the atomic number of uranium.
• These are elements heavier than Uranium.
• Isotopes: these are the same atoms with
different number of neutrons.
• Atomic Number: this is the number of protons
in an atom, pertaining to its identity.
• Atomic Weight: this is the number of protons
and neutrons together of an atom.
• Periodic Trends: the chemical properties
exhibited by the elements, reflected in the
periodic table through groups or families.
Cosmic Ray Spallation
 Stellar Evolution
It is the process by which a star changes over the
course of time.
Stars go through a natural cycle, much like any living
beings. This cycle begins with birth, expands through
life span characterize by change and growth, and
ultimately leads to death.
Did you know that some of the stars we see in the sky
may already be dead! Their light travels millions and
millions of kilometers, and by the time reaches us, the
star would have died.
 Synthesis Elements
• The heaviest elements in the universe can be
recreated in a laboratory.
This type of element creation is called the
synthesis of elements which is the focus for this
lesson.

It is important to note that these

heavy elements, although created in a
laboratory, do exist in space.
The main reason why these heavy elements are needed
to be created here in our planet is because traces of
them in space cannot be harvested.
The reason for this is because their life spans
are too short to be captured for evidence—
microseconds short to be exact.

Let us take the following scenario

for example:
The element Gold (Au) is too
heavy that whenever it takes form
in space, it dissipates almost as
soon as it was formed.
• Back on 1913, a scientist named Henry Moseley
sought to fix Dmitri Mendeleev’s arrangement of
the periodic table of elements. There was a
discovery that arranging the elements based on
their weight didn’t reflect the element’s chemical
properties properly.
 Henry Moseley
• Henry Moseley experimented by shooting electrons at varying
elements.
The result was that the elements released x-rays at a certain
frequency that increases as the protons increases.

Based on Henry Moseley’s x-ray spectroscopy experiment, he

opted to arrange the elements in the periodic table according to
the square root of their unique frequency emission resulting in a
more organized table which shows periodic trends more clearly.
 Moseley’s x-ray spectroscopy
• Moseley’s x-ray spectroscopy is vital in the
synthesis of the heaviest elements in a laboratory
because it serves as a foundation of discovering
that manipulating an element’s number of
protons can be done.
SYNTHESIS OF ELEMENTS
• An element is identified by its number of
protons because no two elements can
have the same number of protons.
So in order to make a new, heavier element,
protons must be added to an existing atomic
nuclei of an element.
 Cyclotron
A cyclotron—a type of particle accelerator—is a
device invented and used to form and accelerate
protons to hit a target nuclei, causing an addition
of a proton to the target element.
Figure 2.1 Shows the simple mechanism
and model of a cyclotron.
Figure 2.2 Shows the simple mechanism and model
of a particle accelerator.
TRANSURANIC ELEMENTS
What are the elements synthesized here
on Earth?
These elements are those termed as
transuranic elements and those written at
the bottom of the periodic table of elements
which are the heaviest in terms of atomic
number, considered when heavier than
Uranium (U) with an atomic number of 92.
 TRANSURANIC ELEMENTS
There are 26 transuranic elements in total,
as follows:
Atomic
Number: 93 94 95 96 97
Element
Symbol: Np Pu Am Cm Bk
Element Name: Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium

Atomic Number: 98 99 100 101

Element Symbol: Cf Es Fm Md
Element Name: Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium
 Atomic
102 103 104 105
Number:
Element
No Lr Rf Db
Symbol:
Element Name: Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium

Atomic
106 107 108 109 110
Number:
Element
Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds
Symbol:
Element
Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium
Name:
 Atomic        
Number:
111 112 113 114
Element
Symbol:  Rg  Cn  Nh  Fl
Element  Roentgenium  Copernicium  Nihonium  Flerovium
Name:

       
Atomic Number:
115 116 117 118
Element
Symbol: Mc  Lv  Ts  Og
Element Name:  Moscovium  Livermorium  Tennessine  Oganesson
 Activity 1.4
Bomb Leftovers
Remember that during star explosions, heavier
elements are created? That same concept
happens here on Earth when a nuclear bomb
explodes. When a nuke explodes, traces of
radioactive elements such as Uranium and those
heavier than it are left in the wake of the
explosion. These radioactivity can be hazardous
to the health of the people near the area.
 Instructions:
To broaden your understanding that this
lesson can be applied in real life, research
and read about the Chernobyl Nuclear
Incident focusing on the topics of radiation
and its effects. Use the following table
below and copy the format on a 1 whole
piece of paper.
Title of the Article: Date of the Article’s
Publication:
Reference/s: Score: /10
1. What did you learn from the article?
 
2. What heavy element was the Chernobyl nuclear accelerators
supposed to make?
 
 3. What was the connection of the article you read to the
concept of atomic number led to the synthesis of new elements
in the laboratory?