From Transuranic To Superheavy Elements

The story of superheavy elements - those at the very end of the periodic table - is not well known outside the community of heavy-ion physicists and nuclear chemists. But it is a most interesting story which deserves to be known also to historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science and indeed to the general public. This is what the present work aims at. It tells the story or rather parts of the story, of how physicists and chemists created elements heavier than uranium or searched for them in nature. And it does so with an emphasis on the frequent discovery and naming disputes concerning the synthesis of very heavy elements. Moreover, it calls attention to the criteria which scientists have adopted for what it means to have discovered a new element. In this branch of modern science it may be more appropriate to speak of creation instead of discovery. The work will be of interest to scientists as well as to scholars studying modern science from a meta-perspective.

The story of superheavy elements - those at the very end of the periodic table - is not well known outside the community of heavy-ion physicists and nuclear chemists. But it is a most interesting story which deserves to be known also to historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science and indeed to the general public. This is what the present work aims at. It tells the story or rather parts of the story, of how physicists and chemists created elements heavier than uranium or searched for them in nature. And it does so with an emphasis on the frequent discovery and naming disputes concerning the synthesis of very heavy elements. Moreover, it calls attention to the criteria which scientists have adopted for what it means to have discovered a new element. In this branch of modern science it may be more appropriate to speak of creation instead of discovery. The work will be of interest to scientists as well as to scholars studying modern science from a meta-perspective.

Provides a review of the experimental & theoretical investigations of superheavy elements, especially their nuclear aspects. Also presents many new theoretical aspects & predictions of the Dynamic Deformation Model, developed by the author. Specific heavy-ion fusion experiments, which may lead to the discovery of superheavy elements, are suggested.

Written by Glenn T. Seaborg, Nobel Laureate and pre-eminent figure in the field, with the assistance of Walter D. Loveland, it covers all aspects of transuranium elements, including their discovery, chemical properties, nuclear properties, nuclear synthesis reactions, experimental techniques, natural occurrence, superheavy elements, and predictions for the future. Published on the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of transuranium elements, it conveys the essence of the ideas and distinctive blend of theory and experiment that has marked their study.

In the early nineteenth century chemists knew of the existence of ninety-two chemical elements, from Hydrogen to Uranium. For nearly forty years scientists thought they knew the content of our planet and all of its contents. In the late 1930s the world of chemical science began to discover elements beyond Uranium - the 'transuranics'. These new, super-heavy elements are probably not found in nature at all but can be detected, if only for a few fractions of a second, in precisely designed experiments using powerful nuclear tools. On Beyond Uranium: Journey to the End of the Periodic Table is full of exciting new concepts and tells the story of the author's quest to discover elements never before known to man.

This book describes hazards from radon progeny and other alpha-emitters that humans may inhale or ingest from their environment. In their analysis, the authors summarize in one document clinical and epidemiological evidence, the results of animal studies, research on alpha-particle damage at the cellular level, metabolic pathways for internal alpha-emitters, dosimetry and microdosimetry of radionuclides deposited in specific tissues, and the chemical toxicity of some low-specific-activity alpha-emitters. Techniques for estimating the risks to humans posed by radon and other internally deposited alpha-emitters are offered, along with a discussion of formulas, models, methods, and the level of uncertainty inherent in the risk estimates.

In this highly interesting book, three pioneering investigators provide an account of the discovery and investigation of the nuclear and chemical properties of the twenty presently known transuranium elements. The neutron irradiation of uranium led to the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938 and then to the first transuranium element, neptunium (atomic number 93), in 1940. Plutonium (94) quickly followed and the next nine elements completed the actinide series by 1961. Investigation of the chemical properties of the actinides was followed more recently by chemical studies of the first three transactinides — rutherfordium (104), hahnium (105), and seaborgium (106). Recent discoveries have extended the known elements to 112. Contents: Neptunium and PlutoniumThe Plutonium PeopleAmericium and CuriumBerkelium and CaliforniumThe “Big Bang”: Discovery of Einsteinium and FermiumMendeleviumNobelium and LawrenciumRutherfordium and HahniumSeaborgiumBohrium (107), Hassium (108), and Meitnerium (109)Elements 110, 111, and 112Naming Controversies and the Transfermium Working GroupSearches for the Superheavy ElementsReflections and Predictions Readership: Undergraduates and graduates in nuclear physics, radiochemistry and the general readers. Keywords:Transuranium People;Neptunium;Transactinides;Rutherfordium;Hahnium;SeaborgiumReviews:“'The Transuranium People' is a splendid tribute to those who have made the past 60 years a golden age for discovering new elements.”C&EN

Shortlisted for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Creating an element is no easy feat. It's the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a needle in a haystack, hoping the bullet and needle somehow fuse together, then catching it in less than a thousandth of a second – after which it's gone forever. Welcome to the world of the superheavy elements: a realm where scientists use giant machines and spend years trying to make a single atom of mysterious artefacts that have never existed on Earth. From the first elements past uranium and their role in the atomic bomb to the latest discoveries stretching our chemical world, Superheavy will reveal the hidden stories lurking at the edges of the periodic table. Why did the US Air Force fly planes into mushroom clouds? Who won the transfermium wars? How did an earthquake help give Japan its first element? And what happened when Superman almost spilled nuclear secrets? In a globe-trotting adventure that stretches from the United States to Russia, Sweden to Australia, Superheavy is your guide to the amazing science filling in the missing pieces of the periodic table. By the end you'll not only marvel at how nuclear science has changed our lives – you'll wonder where it's going to take us in the future.