A chemical element, or element, is a type of atom that is defined by its atomic number; that is, by the number of protons in its nucleus. The term is also used to refer to a pure chemical substance composed of atoms with the same number of protons.

Common examples of elements are hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon. In total, 117 elements have been observed as of 2007, of which 94 occur naturally on Earth. Elements with atomic numbers greater than 82 (i.e,. bismuth and those above), are inherently unstable and undergo radioactive decay. In addition, elements 43 and 61 (technetium and promethium) have no stable isotopes, and also decay. However, even the elements up to atomic number 94 with no stable nuclei are nevertheless found in nature, as a result of the natural decay processes of uranium and thorium.

All chemical matter consists of these elements. New elements are discovered from time to time through artificial nuclear reactions.

History

The term 'elements' (stoicheia) was first used by the Greek philosopher Plato in about 360 BCE, in his dialogue Timaeus, which includes a discussion of the composition of inorganic and organic bodies and is a rudimentary treatise on chemistry. Plato assumed that the minute particle of each element had a special geometric shape: tetrahedron (fire), octahedron (air), icosahedron (water), and cube (earth).

Chemical symbols
For the listing of current and not used Chemical symbols, and other symbols that look like chemical symbols, please see List of elements by symbol.


Specific chemical elements


Before chemistry became a science, alchemists had designed arcane symbols for both metals and common compounds. These were however used as abbreviations in diagrams or procedures; there was no concept of atoms combining to form molecules. With his advances in the atomic theory of matter, John Dalton devised his own simpler symbols, based on circles, which were to be used to depict molecules.

The current system of chemical notation was invented by Berzelius. In this typographical system chemical symbols are not used as mere abbreviations - though each consists of letters of the Latin alphabet - they are symbols intended to be used by peoples of all languages and alphabets. The first of these symbols were intended to be fully universal; since Latin was the common language of science at that time, they were abbreviations based on the Latin names of metals - Fe comes from Ferrum, Ag from Argentum. The symbols were not followed by a period (full stop) as abbreviations were. Later chemical elements were also assigned unique chemical symbols, based on the name of the element, but not necessarily in English. For example, sodium has the chemical symbol 'Na' after the Latin natrium. The same applies to "W" (wolfram) for tungsten, "Hg" (hydrargyrum) for mercury, "K" (kalium) for potassium, "Au" (aurum) for gold, "Pb" (plumbum) for lead, and "Sb" (stibium) for antimony.

Chemical symbols are understood internationally when element names might need to be translated. There are sometimes differences; for example, the Germans have used "J" instead of "I" for iodine, so the character would not be confused with a roman numeral.

The first letter of a chemical symbol is always capitalized, as in the preceding examples, and the subsequent letters, if any, are always lower case (small letters).


General chemical symbols

There are also symbols for series of chemical elements, for comparative formulas. These are one capital letter in length, and the letters are reserved so they are not permitted to be given for the names of specific elements. For example, an "X" is used to indicate a variable group amongst a class of compounds (though usually a halogen), while "R" is used for a radical, meaning a compound structure such as a hydrocarbon chain. The letter "Q" is reserved for "heat" in a chemical reaction. "Y" is also often used as a general chemical symbol, although it is also the symbol of yttrium. "Z" is also frequently used as a general variable group. "L" is used to represent a general ligand in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. "M" is also often used in place of a general metal.


Isotope symbols

The three main isotopes of the element hydrogen are often written as H for protium, D for deuterium and T for tritium. This is in order to make it easier to use them in chemical equations, as it replaces the need to write out the mass number for each atom. It is written like this:

D2O (heavy water)

Instead of writing it like this:

²H2O

During the early phases of the Big Bang, nucleosynthesis of hydrogen nuclei resulted in the production of hydrogen and helium isotopes, as well as very minuscule amounts (on the order of 10-10) of lithium and beryllium. No heavier elements were produced. As a result, the primordial abundance of atoms consisted of roughly 75% 1H, 25% 4He, and 0.01% deuterium.[12] Subsequent enrichment of galactic halos occurred due to Stellar nucleosynthesis and Supernova nucleosynthesis.[13] However intergalactic space can still closely resemble the primordial abundance, unless it has been enriched by some means.

The following table shows the ten most common elements in our galaxy (estimated spectroscopically), as measured in parts per million, by mass.[14] Nearby galaxies that have evolved along similar lines have a corresponding enrichment of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The more distant galaxies are being viewed as they appeared in the past, so their abundances of elements appear closer to the primordial mixture. As physical laws and processes appear common throughout the visible universe, however, it is expected that these galaxies will likewise have evolved similar abundances of elements.