Looking for superheavies — Science Information, September 8, 1973
Physicists and chemists have been actively looking for superheavy parts, substances with atomic weights and numbers larger than the 105 [elements] now recognized. Outcomes of two searches are reported … none had been discovered…. Future searches must contain direct fusion of heavy nuclei by driving one in opposition to one other in heavy-ion accelerators.
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Particle accelerators have been essential for creating superheavies past parts 104 and 105. Only a 12 months later, factor 106, seaborgium, emerged from collisions of oxygen ions and californium atoms — although its discovery wasn’t formally confirmed till 20 years later (SN: 3/19/94, p. 180). Parts 107 by 118 have since made their debut, with a number of becoming a member of the periodic desk as lately as 2016. Scientists are actually attempting to create parts 119 and 120 (SN: 3/2/19, p. 16). Forming heavier parts and pushing recognized superheavyweights to their limits might reveal insights into the forces that bind atoms collectively and the weird chemistry of probably the most excessive parts.
