Will we run out of elements?

By 2024-09-26T05:14:00

A collection of helium party balloons

Source: © Anastasiia Krivenok/Getty Images

From helium to lithium and more, chemists are developing circular economies to preserve precious elements

Humanity has already found all the elements that exist on Earth. These are all the elements on the periodic table up to 92, uranium. Anything beyond that is too unstable to have been able to exist naturally since the Earth’s formation. Scientists have also made a further 26 elements in the lab and are confident that there are at least 172 possible elements. This means we haven’t discovered a third of the periodic table. So there are plenty more elements yet to be made, but what about the naturally occurring elements – will supplies of any of these run out soon? Use this article and the accompanying TikTok to provide context to students when teaching the elements on the periodic table, natural resources and sustainability.

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor. 

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

  • unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
  • teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
  • applications for funding to support your lessons

Set up your Teach Chemistry account

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.