They say it's because it's "one of the heaviest elements that was forged in the violent collisions of neutron stars, the densest of all stars." (From a news report, and pretty much the same line I've heard many times the past few weeks when reading recent articles about the rarity of gold. One of the astro-science TeeVee shows recently claimed that: "all the gold in the universe would fill three Olympic pools.")
"Sure," I think to myself, "It is the heaviest of all the naturally-occurring/stable ones we know of, right?" (That
would make it pretty rare, then, right?)
"Wrong!!" my left-brain screams.
What about Mercury through Radium???
(And let's not forget the Actiniod Series, too!)They're ALL heavier (AU-wise) than Gold, right?
Anyone here have the answer to if Mercury-Radium elements are rarer than gold on earth, or why they're not as rare/precious? (If that's so, or not....)
(My astrophysicist friend is away on vacation, you see, so I'm asking here. )I certainly HOPE that Radium is rarer than Gold!
For reference, here's a handy
Periodic Table of the Elements.