Lead (Z = 82) is the heaviest element with stable isotopes; lead-208 is doubly magic. Bismuth (Z = 83) was long considered stable until a team at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale in Orsay, France, detected alpha decay of bismuth-209 in 2003, with a half-life of about 1.9 × 10^19 years — over a billion times the age of the universe.
The question, scope, and sources behind this Registry record.
Lead (Z = 82) is the heaviest element with stable isotopes; lead-208 is doubly magic. Bismuth (Z = 83) was long considered stable until a team at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale in Orsay, France, detected alpha decay of bismuth-209 in 2003, with a half-life of about 1.9 × 10^19 years — over a billion times the age of the universe.
The highest atomic number of any element with at least one isotope that has never been observed to decay.
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Current frontiers derived from accepted Claims.
An observed or demonstrated result; no opposing bound is implied.
The frontier is not sacred
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The frontier as it changed over time.
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1 accepted Claim, with 1 linked evidence records.
Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-HEAVIEST-ELEMENT-WITH-STABLE-ISOTOPE
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Limits Registry. LR-HEAVIEST-ELEMENT-WITH-STABLE-ISOTOPE. Heaviest element with a stable isotope. 2026.