theoretically, if you could create any element from nothing, which one would it be?

Question: theoretically, if you could create any element from nothing, which one would it be?
- Keywords:
  element
Asked by anon-353894 on 9 Mar 2023.
- Claire Sycamore-Howe answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  I would create more Lithium, because it’s really important for use in batteries. There’s only so much in the world at the moment and there’s not enough for us to all have electric cars, even if we could afford them.
  
  If you or your parents have any old electronics (like phones or laptops) at home that you don’t use it’s really important that you take them to your local recycling centre as we need the metals and other elements that are in your drawer at home!
- Ai-Lan Lee answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  Well, alchemists have been trying for a long time to make gold out of nothing…..
- Jade Markham answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  I agree with Ai-Lan Lee – gold was my first thought!
- Martin McCoustra answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  There are people actively trying to do this… it basically involves literally smashing atoms together and trying to detect the signatures of new atoms that exist for only tiny fractions of a second. Doing that we’ve been able to push our known list of element up to about 120. There might be more but we’ll have to wait and see!
- Joshua Bray answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  Hydrogen, because then we could solve the world’s energy issues by burning it to make water.
- Graeme Dykes answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  There are exotic elements proposed to live beyond the bottom of the current Periodic Table. It would be cool to make a few of these “Super Heavy Elements”
- Craig Johnston answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  Since it’s theoretical, can I make adamantium or vibranium? If they did exist I am sure they would have lots of useful applications but mostly I just want to play with them.
- Nathalie Oguntona answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  If it’s within the Periodic table, I’d go for Silver. Theoretically something lie vibranium as it looks cool especially for applicability
- Jo Ellis answered on 9 Mar 2023:
  
  Got to be hydrogen then we can stop using fossil fuels
- Clara Zehe answered on 10 Mar 2023:
  
  If it would be a real element, I would go for Iridium. But as others already said it would be pretty cool to be able to make vibranium!
- Rebecca Walker answered on 10 Mar 2023:
  
  My first thought, like others, was silver or gold… but perhaps neon, I’d love to make lots of neon signs for around my house!
- Graeme Barker answered on 10 Mar 2023:
  
  Probably helium – it’s incredibly important for all sorts of scientific, industrial and medical applications (MRI scanners, for example), but it’s expensive and there is only a limited amount of it on Earth. Frankly, I’m amazed people are still allowed to use it in balloons!
- Thomas Swift answered on 10 Mar 2023:
  
  It’s not ‘the’ element, it’s also the form of the element.
  We have FAR too much carbon, but not enough of it is diamond. We can turn it into diamond, but that takes a lot of energy – a very wasteful process.
  
  If we could just create something with the hardness of diamond from nothing without putting any energy in it would solve a LOT of problems.
- Arno Kraft answered on 13 Mar 2023:
  
  Traditionally, the answer to this question should be: gold. A long time goal for alchemist. From a personal point of view, I have a certain fondness for darmstadtium, one of the less well-known transactinide elements, the main reason being that it is named after the city where I was born.
- Rebecca Woods answered on 14 Mar 2023:
  
  I think I’d go for one of the so called “conflict minerals” (Sn/Ta/W/Au) that way they wouldn’t have to be mined and we can still use them ethically.

Question: theoretically, if you could create any element from nothing, which one would it be?

Comments