Black atoms matter!
Never-Before-Seen 'Black Nitrogen' Plugs Puzzle in Periodic Table Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have created a form of nitrogen that's never been seen before. Nicknamed "black nitrogen," the new substance is crystalline, occurs in two-dimensional sheets, and could one day be useful in advanced electronics. From a report:
Strangely enough, the idea that black nitrogen didn't exist has long been considered a mystery. The periodic table is arranged in recurring "periods" where each column is made up of elements with similar properties. Those at the top have the fewest protons and the lowest weight, and each successive element in the group gains protons and weight. Under high pressure, elements on the top of a column usually take on structures similar to elements further down the group. These different forms are known as allotropes. Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen, for example, while graphite and diamond are both allotropes of carbon. But nitrogen only has one allotrope -- dinitrogen -- and doesn't have any that resemble heavier elements in its group. This was always considered a bit weird, but now a new study has found a previously-unknown allotrope that shows that nitrogen isn't an exception to the rule, as has long been believed.
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