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There have been 117 elements discovered or observed
as of 2008 of which 94 occur naturally on Earth listed on the periodic
table. Elements above the
atomic number 43 - 61 (technetium and promethium) have no stable
isotopes, and exhibit radioactive decay and above 82 (i.e. bismuth and
those above), are considered unstable. Elements up to 94 with no stable
nuclei are found in nature, as a result of the natural decay processes
of uranium and thorium. (See periodic table) The atomic, electromagnetic and gravitational properties of these elements including there number atoms and protons (+ positive ) and electrons (- negative) properties and the level of attraction and repulsion forces create stable and unstable bonds and molecules. These molecules result in solid crystalline or amorphous materials like metals, plastics, glasses, fluids or gases. The term 'elements' first used by Plato in 360 BC, refers to it as a composition of inorganic and organic bodies and is a rudimentary treatise on chemistry. Plato proposed that each element had a special geometric shape: tetrahedron (fire), octahedron (air), icosahedron (water), and cube (earth).1 1. Hillar, Marian (2004). The Problem of the Soul in Aristotle's De anima. NASA WMAP.
Based
on elements of the
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