Are there element in the surface of the Sun which do not exist on Earth?

[elektrisk]

I'm thinking 'no', but that's just an educated guess. Any guidance would be appreciated.

[hermanntrude]

the sun contains only a few of the lightest elements, mostly hydrogen helium and lithium, not much else. So no... although people thought that helium existed only in the sun for a while but it was just that it hadnt been discovered here on earth because it's so unreactive.

[UC]

the sun contains only a few of the lightest elements, mostly hydrogen helium and lithium, not much else. So no... although people thought that helium existed only in the sun for a while but it was just that it hadnt been discovered here on earth because it's so unreactive.

 

It's not so much that it's so unreactive, as argon was discovered in the atmosphere, but the fact that there isn't much in the way of sources for it. As far as I know, all of our helium is from natural gas sources. The helium is the result of alpha-decay of thorium and uranium minerals (the alpha particles slow down, capture some electrons and become [ce] ^4He [/ce]). It becomes trapped in the same impermeable pockets of rock as the natural gas.

 

I believe a uranium mineral that had the gas trapped in it directly was responsible for the original discovery on earth though.

[jake.com]

It's not so much that it's so unreactive, as argon was discovered in the atmosphere, but the fact that there isn't much in the way of sources for it. As far as I know, all of our helium is from natural gas sources. The helium is the result of alpha-decay of thorium and uranium minerals (the alpha particles slow down, capture some electrons and become [ce] ^4He [/ce]). It becomes trapped in the same impermeable pockets of rock as the natural gas.

 

I believe a uranium mineral that had the gas trapped in it directly was responsible for the original discovery on earth though.

 

That's the most informative thing I've read all day! Thanks!

[swansont]

If you don't limit it to the sun (and perhaps the surface), there's an example. Tc has been discovered in the spectra of certain stars, and is considered to be not naturally occurring on earth (you get trace amounts in fission)

[jake.com]

If you don't limit it to the sun (and perhaps the surface), there's an example. Tc has been discovered in the spectra of certain stars, and is considered to be not naturally occurring on earth (you get trace amounts in fission)

 

Tc is techtium, right?

[Ophiolite]

Tc is techtium, right?

Technetium. It is element 43 in the periodic table. It is not clear if SwansonT's suggestion it is not found on the Earth is correct or not. For example, according to the US EPA "It occurs naturally in minute amounts in the earth's crust, but is primarily man-made."

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/radionuclides/technetium.html

[swansont]

Technetium. It is element 43 in the periodic table. It is not clear if SwansonT's suggestion it is not found on the Earth is correct or not. For example, according to the US EPA "It occurs naturally in minute amounts in the earth's crust, but is primarily man-made."

http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/radionuclides/technetium.html

 

It depends on the source of the information and the criteria for consider something naturally occurring. If you wait, it'll appear as the result of spontaneous fission. Some charts of the nuclides list it as not naturally occurring.