News > Asteroids could contain undiscovered, superheavy elements

Asteroids could contain undiscovered, superheavy elements

For centuries, the quest for new elements was a driving force in many scientific disciplines. Understanding an atom’s structure and the development of nuclear science allowed scientists to accomplish the old goal of alchemists – turning one element into another. Over the past few decades, scientists in the United States, Germany and Russia have figured out how to use special tools to combine two atomic nuclei and create new, superheavy elements.