Possibility of Discovering Elements Beyond the Periodic Table

It is well established that the origin and formation of heavy elements lie in stellar explosions. These cosmic events generate elements heavier than helium and lithium, with the scale of the explosion determining which elements are produced. Simply put, the larger the star, the greater the energy of its supernova, which results in higher pressure and temperature—conditions that give rise to increasingly heavier elements. For example, hydrogen fuses into helium, helium into lithium, and so on. In essence, most heavy elements are born from supernovae.

At the same time, the Milky Way is estimated to be over 10 billion years old, while the universe itself is about 14 billion years old. This suggests that the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy must trace its origins back to the Big Bang. Such a black hole could only have formed from the collapse of the earliest primordial superstars. Accordingly, the Big Bang—the largest and most powerful explosion in the history of the cosmos—likely generated all elements, from the lightest to the heaviest.

Considering the vastness of the universe, it is reasonable to assume that somewhere in its expanse, there exist elements heavier than those currently identified within the Milky Way. Research carried out by the Saleh Research Group indicates that at least ten elements heavier than the most massive known element on the periodic table may exist elsewhere in the universe.