Pushing nature’ s envelope could also shed light on the ultimate origins of matter in the Big Bang and stellar furnaces, how particles self-establish into distinct elements and more.“ We’ re trying to answer the fundamental question,‘ Where does matter end?’” says Shaughnessy. Overall, the coming crop of new super heavy elements and different isotopes looks set to facelift our understanding of nature at the atomic level.“ In nuclear physics, there are many frontiers,” says Sherrill.“ This is a story where we don’ t know the ending.”