Atomic mass or weight is the average mass of the protons, neutrons, and electrons in an element's atoms. Science Photo Library - ANDRZEJ WOJCICKI, Getty Images
There are very few or even no direct indications of the existence of atoms with an atomic weight greater than that of uranium, despite extensive studies of the earth's crust and the solar atmosphere.
We cannot take samples from the interior of the Earth, just as we cannot penetrate the surface of stars. All our knowledge about the composition of celestial bodies has been obtained through spectral analysis of stars and nebulae, chemical analysis of meteorites, and is based on data on the chemical composition of the earth's crust, obtained by various methods.
Undiscovered elements with unexpected properties are not impossible. Thousands of absorption lines in the solar atmosphere still cannot be attributed to known chemical elements. The spectroscopist is convinced, however, that these indicators of chemical nature will eventually be attributed to some known atoms and that they do not indicate the existence of unknown elements in the general list.
But how possible is it that heavy elements have sunk under the surface of stars and are beyond the range of spectral analysis? Jeans makes a strong case for the existence of such ultrauranium atoms in the depths of the Sun and stars. He suspects that they may be highly radioactive, like the known heavy atoms ranging from radium to uranium, and that the ultimate source of stellar energy can be successfully sought in the spontaneous decay of heavy unstable elements in the interiors of stars. The familiar elements of the earth's crust are composed of atoms, essentially unchanged, which do not turn into radiation.
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