1

Why we do not get naturally occurring elements with atomic number greater than 92?

I know that some arguments suggests that the reason is that all the elements with atomic number from 93 are highly unstable and their half lives are very small. That is why we do not get them naturally because they decay after formation. But after some thorough research about this thing, I found out that for elements with atomic number greater than 92,the Coulombic repulsion between the protons in the nucleus higher than the strong interaction nuclear force which binds the nucleus. Is there any reason for this? I mean why for $Z>92$, the Coulomb repulsion is higher than the strong nuclear force and why for $Z\leq 92$ it is smaller?

Qmechanic
  • 201,751
  • Hey!, does this similar question give you explanation :https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/193774/why-are-heavier-nuclei-unstable – Kshitij Kumar Oct 25 '21 at 10:49
  • If you use the search term "island of stability" there are suspicions that there may exist nuclei with Z > 117 that may be (relatively) stable, https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2014.15189 – jim Oct 25 '21 at 11:44
  • There are plenty of heavy nuclei that naturally occur in supernovas, including any number that we have not seen here on Earth. – Jon Custer Oct 25 '21 at 12:56

0 Answers0