There are 118 elements on the periodic table, last four of them were added in Jan 2016. Element No 118 is called Oganesson (Og) named after Yuri Oganessian, a Russian physicist who discovered element no 114 in 1999. Oganesson is the heaviest element synthesised in the lab till date. But scientists have been successful to create just a few atoms.
The first element to be discovered is copper which was mined by humans way back in 9000BC. The next element to be mined was lead almost 9000 years ago. Gold was discovered in Wadi Qana in Israel and is believed to be the oldest gold artifact dating back to 6000BC.
Radioactive elements begins as early as Technetium which is at Element No 43 and Promethium at Element No 61 on the periodic table.
Element No 84 onwards which is Polonium are all radioactive upto Uranium (Element No 92). Uranium is the last naturally found element on Earth. Element beyond 93 are found only in traces. Elements from 93 to 98 were all artificially synthesised at the University of California, Berkeley. These elements were a fallout of the Manhattan project and subsequent nuclear weapons testing.
Plutonium is the most dangerous element because it can poison your body just by inhaling. Even more dangerous is Polonium but only if it enters into your body.
Most abundant element in nature – Oxygen is the most abundant element on Earth, around 46%. It is however not at all stable. It reacts with other elements to form oxides. For example iron oxide or rust which we commonly know.
Most rarest element in nature – Astatine is the most rarest element at number 85 on the periodic table. Astatine-210 has a half life of just 8.1 hours. A complete sample has never been collected because it decays so fast. It was first synthesised in 1940 by a group of scientists at the University of California, Berkeley who named it after the Greek God Astatos whose name means “unstable”.
University of California, Berkeley has discovered 16 elements in the periodic table. This university has also discovered flu vaccine, polygraph (lie detector) and Vitamin E. It has also produced 107 Nobel Prize winners till date!
Shortest half life – Element No 87, Francium has the shortest life known. One of the isotopes, Francium-223 which is the longest living has a half life of 22 minutes!
Human Body – Oxygen forms the bulk of human body, as high as 65%. Carbon comes next at 18%.
Rasaratna Samuchaya – It is an Indian textbook in Sanskrit on alchemy and chemistry. It describes complex metallurgical processes as well as how to setup a chemistry lab too. It was in use in ancient India from 13th century onwards. Indian metallurgists have been credited with the discovery of Zinc which is an important component of brass which was used a lot in ancient India. Metals and alloys like tin, bronze, lead were extensively used in Indian civilizations.