Chandrasekharium is the provisional non-systematic name of an undiscovered element with the symbol Ck and atomic number 178. Chandrasekharium was named in honor of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910–1995), who studied stages in stellar evolution and calculated the Chandrasekhar limit. This hypothetical element with atomic number 178 is known in the scientific literature as unseptoctium (Uso) or simply element 178. It is located in the periodic table coordinate 6g4.
Atomic properties[]
Since its atomic number is greater than 173 (messierium), the properties below are only predicted. Its nucleus contains 178 protons and likely over 340 neutrons. It has an atomic mass of 525.35 amu. There are three electrons in both the 7f and 8d orbitals for this element.
Isotopes[]
Like every other element heavier than lead, chandrasekharium has no stable isotopes. The longest-lived isotope hasn't been calculated yet, but its number of nucleons will be greater than 518. It has a half life of 121.366 yoctoseconds and is expected to decay by spontaneous fission like other elements in this range.
It is also expected to have several isomers, which are excited states of normal ground state isotopes. It is possible that some of them have half-lives longer than the the longest-lived ground state isotope.
Chemical properties and compounds[]
As it is the sixth element of its period, chandrasekharium can form a +6 (hexavalent) oxidation state like teslium. It can also exhibit oxidation states from +1 to +6, with +2 and +5 being more common than the other lower oxidation states. Some possible compounds include chandrasekharium carbonate (Ck(CO3)3), chandrasekharium fluoride (CkF2) and organochandrasekharium compounds.
Physical properties[]
Chandrasekharium is a green metal, due to certain exchange of energies between different orbitals. These electrons excite energies mostly at the green regions of the visible spectrum. Its density and molar volume has not been calculated yet as its half-life is too short. Like most metals, chandrasekharium is predicted to be paramagnetic. It is a solid at room temperature. Its melting point is 113.24 °C and its boiling point is 434.65 °C under standard atmospheric pressure. This corresponds to its liquid range of 321.41 °C and its liquid ratio of 1.83.
Occurrence[]
It is possible that chandrasekharium doesn't exist in the universe at all, at any time in the past or in the future. This is because certain relativistic calculations state that the electrons of the 1s orbital will reach or exceed the speed of light in this element. Under this hypothesis, this element is impossible to create or exist. However, such a limit remains unproven, and it is possible that heavier elements and quantum mechanics will be further studied in the future, refining the limit of the number of protons an electrically neutral atom can have. Other common limits predicted include 137, 210 or even unlimited.
Synthesis[]
It might be impossible to synthesize chandrasekharium due to quantum restrictions on the speed of electrons. If synthesis is possible, then nuclei of a couple lighter elements must be fused together, and the right amount of neutrons must be seeded. This operation would be impossible using current technology since it requires a tremendous amount of energy, thus its cross section would be so low that it is beyond the technological limit. Even if synthesis succeeds, this resulting element would almost immediately undergo fission.
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