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Elements of science and fiction

Nature Chemistry volume 11, pages 13–16 (2019)Cite this article

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Scientists and non-scientists alike have long been dreaming of elements with mighty properties. Perhaps the fictional materials they have conjured up are not as far from reality as it may at first seem.

Crucially, when Dmitri Mendeleev organized all the elements known at the time into a table that reflected similar properties, he left some gaps, thereby providing scientists with inspiration to fill in the blanks. The charm of dreaming about new elements was not, however, a pursuit reserved for scientists alone. Fictional materials have been cropping up in TV series, films and books for many decades, some taking on properties that could only ever exist in the fictional world, whereas others — perhaps a surprisingly large number — mirror their real-life counterparts.

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  1. Head of Community Engagement, Digital Science, London, UK

    Suze Kundu

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  1. Suze Kundu
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Correspondence to Suze Kundu.

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Kundu, S. Elements of science and fiction. Nature Chem 11, 13–16 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-018-0194-5

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