A series of complicated experiments involving one of the least understood elements of the

Periodic Table has turned some long-held tenets of the scientific world upside down.

Florida State University researchers found that the theory of quantum mechanics does not

adequately explain how the heaviest and rarest elements found at the end of the table fun

ction. Instead, another well-known scientific theory—Albert Einstein's famous Theory of Re

lativity—helps govern the behavior of the last 21 elements of the Periodic Table.

This new research is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Quantum mechanics are essentially the rules that govern how atoms behave and fully exp

lain the chemical behavior of most of the elements on the table. But, Thomas Albrecht-Sch

mitt, the Gregory R. Choppin Professor of Chemistry at FSU, found that these rules are so

mewhat overridden by Einstein's Theory of Relativity when it comes to the heavier, lesser

known elements of the Periodic Table.

"It's almost like being in an alternate universe because you're seeing chemistry you simply

don't see in everyday elements," Albrecht-Schmitt said.

The study, which took more than three years to complete, involved the element berkelium, 

or Bk on the Periodic Table. Through experiments involving almost two dozen researchers

across the FSU campus and the FSU-headquartered National High Magnetic Field Labora

tory, Albrecht-Schmitt made compounds out of berkelium that started exhibiting unusual ch

emistry.