Yes-ish. Unlisted elements “exist” in a theoretical sense: The higher the atomic number, the more unstable they are, so you won’t find them in nature.
However, they can be created temporarily in labs, and they exist a short amount of time before they decay into more stable particles. When a previously unobserved element is created, it gets added to the table.
What makes an element stable or unstable is beyond the scope of this question, but in general, the heavier an element is, the more unstable it is, and we’ve already discovered the lightweight ones.
The Island of Stability has been theorized, so once we reach the tech necessary to create elements from there, we might see a large amount of new elements added.
Yes-ish. Unlisted elements “exist” in a theoretical sense: The higher the atomic number, the more unstable they are, so you won’t find them in nature.
However, they can be created temporarily in labs, and they exist a short amount of time before they decay into more stable particles. When a previously unobserved element is created, it gets added to the table.
What makes an element stable or unstable is beyond the scope of this question, but in general, the heavier an element is, the more unstable it is, and we’ve already discovered the lightweight ones.
The Island of Stability has been theorized, so once we reach the tech necessary to create elements from there, we might see a large amount of new elements added.