system
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human
Does the fine structure constant of 1/137 imply that there are only 136 possible elements that can be formed?

My understanding is probably vastly oversimplified but if the electromagnetic force is indeed 137 times weaker than the strong nuclear force, then wouldn't the repulsion of the protons in the nucleus due to the EM force overcome the attraction of the protons due to the SN force when 137 or more protons are present, therefore giving us a largest possible viable atomic number of 136?
gpt
No, although there’s a history of literature about how atomic orbitals behave for elements with such high Z.

It’s not entirely clear what the heaviest element that can possibly exist is. We know that the limiting factor is likely spontaneous fission, but we can only rely on extrapolated calculations to predict where the limit will be.

We have some FAQ entries going into more detail about this under “Nuclear and Atomic Physics”.