Argonion

Argonion is a fictional chemical element that appears in various science fiction and speculative physics narratives. Its name evokes argon, a real noble gas, and the suffix -ion, signaling a distinctive, heavy, inert-like species. In many treatments Argonion is described as a superheavy noble gas or monoatomic species located beyond the known elements on the periodic table.

In depictions, Argonion is typically described as having an atomic number well above the light noble gases, often cited around the range of 126 to 131. It is portrayed as a colorless, odorless gas at standard conditions with extremely high ionization energy and remarkable chemical inertia. Some authors attribute to Argonion a property called quantum inertness, whereby excited states rapidly relax to the ground state, enabling unusual behavior in theoretical energy and information systems.

Occurrence and production are usually described as synthetic in origin, generated in high-energy facilities or particle accelerators through heavy-ion fusion reactions. In fictional worlds, Argonion may also be found in trace concentrations on distant planets or within artificially created plasmas.

Applications in stories commonly include shielding for advanced reactors or superconducting devices, cooling for extreme-temperature systems, and as a medium for high-energy plasma propulsion or quantum computing concepts. Its compounds, when depicted, are generally described as highly unstable and existing only under extreme pressures or catalytic conditions.

Safety considerations are typically framed around its inertness and heaviness, with asphyxiation risk in enclosed spaces and potential radiative effects in certain high-energy scenarios described in narratives.

See also: Argon, Xenon, Noble gas, Hypothetical elements.