Is relativity creating cracks in the periodic table?
Mike Follows shows how relativity has affected gold and mercury, and asks if it will affect elements yet to be discovered
Most scientists may be surprised to learn that Einstein’s theory of special relativity causes some elements to behave out of character, breaking the periodic law of the chemical elements. For example, gold owes its beautiful colour to relativity, and mercury is a liquid at room temperature because of it. For one and a half centuries, the periodic table has doubled as a powerful tool and the most eye-catching emblem for science. But is relativity causing cracks to appear in Dmitri Mendeleev’s creation, and are these cracks likely to widen as more elements are synthesised?
Mike Follows shows how relativity has affected gold and mercury, and asks if it will affect elements yet to be discovered, featuring additional information on the mathematics of the Bohr model and electronic configuration.
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