90 percent of the particles in the universe are hydrogen and the other 10 percent is helium, leaving the rest of the elements in the universe almost just a rounding error. Out of these elements, astatine is the rarest natural element. But this is a paradox, because you'd think that there would be less of the most radioactive elements because they decay so quickly, but there is actually more francium, which is more radioactive, than there is astatine. This is because of the two forces fighting inside an atom, the strong nuclear force (which is attractive) and the electrostatic force (which repels particles). When you get to a certain point the nuclei get too big for the nuclear force to hold onto and the atom decays. Interestingly enough, though, the lifespan on elements does not necessary constantly decrease as the seize of the nucleus gets bigger - scientists call these elements that actually are more stable than their predecessors the island of stability. There is a theory that Einstein developed that suggests that as the ratio of the number of protons and alpha approaches one, electrons fly faster and faster and may even reach the speed of light.
Ultimately, the way we see the periodic table, like a castle with turrets, is just one variation that we've grown accustomed to, but in regality there are hundreds even thousands of other ways we could have arranged the table that contains so much human history.
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