<p>No.</p>
<p>All the elements below uranium are known, and transuranic elements become more unstable the heavier they get.</p>
<p>There may be an island of stability in very heavy nuclei, but those  cannot be created naturally. We can't even make them ourselves.</p>
<p>=== Note that this question doesn't have anything to do with astronomy.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T14:36:48.057Z
Best not to answer questions that are off topic, otherwise we get more like them.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T14:37:47.200Z
A very minor comment: trace amounts of neptunium and plutonium are also found naturally.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T14:49:00.967Z
@PeterErwin from Supernova nucleosynthesis?
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T14:51:53.193Z
@RoryAlsop Oops, sorry. Yes.  I just like explaining stuff. Somebody move this to the physics stax it would be appropriate.
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T16:28:50.157Z
@Miss_Understands For plutonium, yes; they’re also (rare) byproducts of decays in uranium ores.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T16:34:12.923Z
Plutonium is heavier than uranium. How?
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T05:47:44.203Z
Example: U-238 absorbs a neutron (from e.g.spontaneous fission of another nearby U atom) -> U-239 -> Np-239 -> Pu-239.
Peter Erwin
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-28T05:58:13.753Z
Jesus, that happens in nature? Wow. She surprises me every day.
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-29T10:10:19.290Z
Astrobiology, which this question kinda-sorta asks about, is both astronomy and biology. So this question is applicable to this site--but not to physics SE. My "kinda-sorta" is a bit flippant. Asking about lfe as we do not know it is an astronomical topic. Not a particularly good topic, but it does belong here. Or maybe on WorldBuilding.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-07T05:02:13.657Z
@DavidHammen This question ***should never have been answered***. It's utterly off-topic, firstly for being purely hypothetical (an undiscovered element), secondly for being purely biological ("organisms entirely different from our concept of life"), and thirdly nonsensical ("Could it not be visible, but still be material?"). There's no "astro" in this question at all.
Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T13:47:32.250Z
2024-10-27T13:47:32.250Z
Miss Understands
<blockquote>
<p>One &quot;entity&quot; could not be made of carbon?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yes. There have been, for example, speculations of silicon-based life. There have been even more speculative speculations about even more exotic life forms. These are of course highly speculative.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Could it be &quot;imaterial&quot;, from our perspection? Could it not be visible, but still be material?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm not going to say no, but... Science fiction has lots of stories about life in various forms, not just life as we do not know it, but life as we really do not know it, and that includes 'immaterial' life. Whatever that is. But that's science fiction.</p>
<p>Real-lfe scientists are mostly looking for signs of life as we know it (which means carbon-based). There are many good reasons for this perspective.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T16:31:17.843Z
2024-10-27T16:31:17.843Z
David Hammen
<p>One &quot;entity&quot; could not be made of carbon? Could it be &quot;imaterial&quot;, from our perspection? Could it not be visible, but still be material?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T13:15:29.190Z
Hi Bruno. Welcome to Astronomy.SE. What about this question is related to Astronomy?
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T13:49:37.527Z
move this to the  physics stax
Miss Understands
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T14:37:02.983Z
Pretty certain Physics would reject this one.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T15:46:12.303Z
I’m voting to close this question because this is not about Astronomy.
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-27T17:34:06.767Z
This question is similar to: [Question about the formation of elements](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/1902/question-about-the-formation-of-elements). If you believe it’s different, please [edit] the question, make it clear how it’s different and/or how the answers on that question are not helpful for your problem.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-30T15:20:50.667Z
Clearly I lack the knowledge to debate about such complex subject. It's pure sci-fi speculation. Sorry for wasting your time. I remembered the so called "Clarke's 3 laws".
Bruno Lerman
<extra-terrestrial>
Is it possible mankind has not yet discovered elements that could be the basis of organisms entirely different from our concept of life?
Bruno Lerman
# Is it possible mankind has not yet discovered elements that could be the basis of organisms entirely different from our concept of life?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-10-27)

One "entity" could not be made of carbon? Could it be "imaterial", from our perspection? Could it not be visible, but still be material?

**Tags:** extra-terrestrial

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi username_0. Welcome to Astronomy.SE. What about this question is related to Astronomy?  
> **username_2**: move this to the  physics stax  
> **username_1**: Pretty certain Physics would reject this one.  
> **username_3**: I’m voting to close this question because this is not about Astronomy.  
> **username_4**: This question is similar to: [Question about the formation of elements](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/1902/question-about-the-formation-of-elements). If you believe it’s different, please [edit] the question, make it clear how it’s different and/or how the answers on that question are not helpful for your problem.  
> **username_0**: Clearly I lack the knowledge to debate about such complex subject. It's pure sci-fi speculation. Sorry for wasting your time. I remembered the so called "Clarke's 3 laws".  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2024-10-27. Score: 2

No.

All the elements below uranium are known, and transuranic elements become more unstable the heavier they get.

There may be an island of stability in very heavy nuclei, but those cannot be created naturally. We can't even make them ourselves.

=== Note that this question doesn't have anything to do with astronomy.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Best not to answer questions that are off topic, otherwise we get more like them.  
> **username_5**: A very minor comment: trace amounts of neptunium and plutonium are also found naturally.  
> **username_2**: @username_5 from Supernova nucleosynthesis?  
> **username_2**: @username_1 Oops, sorry. Yes.  I just like explaining stuff. Somebody move this to the physics stax it would be appropriate.  
> **username_5**: @username_2 For plutonium, yes; they’re also (rare) byproducts of decays in uranium ores.  
> **username_2**: Plutonium is heavier than uranium. How?  
> **username_5**: Example: U-238 absorbs a neutron (from e.g.spontaneous fission of another nearby U atom) -> U-239 -> Np-239 -> Pu-239.  
> **username_2**: Jesus, that happens in nature? Wow. She surprises me every day.  
> **username_6**: Astrobiology, which this question kinda-sorta asks about, is both astronomy and biology. So this question is applicable to this site--but not to physics SE. My "kinda-sorta" is a bit flippant. Asking about lfe as we do not know it is an astronomical topic. Not a particularly good topic, but it does belong here. Or maybe on WorldBuilding.  
> **username_7**: @username_6 This question ***should never have been answered***. It's utterly off-topic, firstly for being purely hypothetical (an undiscovered element), secondly for being purely biological ("organisms entirely different from our concept of life"), and thirdly nonsensical ("Could it not be visible, but still be material?"). There's no "astro" in this question at all.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2024-10-27. Score: 0

> One "entity" could not be made of carbon?

Yes. There have been, for example, speculations of silicon-based life. There have been even more speculative speculations about even more exotic life forms. These are of course highly speculative.

> Could it be "imaterial", from our perspection? Could it not be visible, but still be material?

I'm not going to say no, but... Science fiction has lots of stories about life in various forms, not just life as we do not know it, but life as we really do not know it, and that includes 'immaterial' life. Whatever that is. But that's science fiction.

Real-lfe scientists are mostly looking for signs of life as we know it (which means carbon-based). There are many good reasons for this perspective.


---

