The Transuranium People

The following sections are included:

• Contents

• Acknowledgments

• Glenn Theodore Seaborg (1912–1999)

• Preface: Intimate Glimpses of the Authors' Early Lives

• Glossary

The following sections are included:

• The Pretransuranium Story

• Early Days at the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory

• Transplutonium Elements

• Current Status

• References

The following sections are included:

• Discovery and Isolation of Neptunium

• Discovery of Plutonium
  • Nuclear Fission of Plutonium
  • Epilogue: ²⁴⁴Pu in Nature

• References

The following sections are included:

• The Metallurgical (Plutonium) Project

• Evolution of the Bismuth Phosphate Process

• The Clinton Plant

• Ultramicrochemistry

• Isolation of Plutonium

• The Hanford Plant

• The Los Alamos Laboratory

• Some Other Early Contributors

• Properties of Plutonium

• Publication

• The Franck Report

• Disposal of Plutonium

• References

The following sections are included:

• Note

• References

• General Updated References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Reminiscences on the Discovery of Berkelium and Californium
  • Glenn T. Seaborg
  • Stanley G. Thompson
    • Introduction: Glenn T. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Stanley G. Thompson
  • Albert Ghiorso
    • Introduction: Glenn T. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Albert Ghiorso
  • Kenneth Street, Jr.
    • Introduction: Glenn T. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Kenneth Street, Jr.

• References

The following sections are included:

• The View from Los Alamos

• The View from Berkeley

• Naming of Elements 99 and 100

• Microscopic Quantities

• Publication

• Limits to Production

• Role of Spontaneous Fission

• Commemorative Symposium

• Outline of Important Points in the History of Elements 99 and 100^6.13

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Tribute to Stanley G. Thompson

• 25th Anniversary Symposium

• Introductory Remarks on the 1980 Symposium by Glenn T. Seaborg

• Reminiscences from the 1980 Symposium
  • Albert Ghiorso
    • Introduction: Dr. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Dr. Ghiarso
    • Comments: Dr. Seaborg
  • Bernard G. Harvey
    • Introduction: Dr. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Dr. Harvey
    • Comments: Dr. Seaborg
  • Gregory F. Choppin
    • Introduction: Dr. Seaborg
    • Reminiscences: Dr. Choppin
    • Comments: Dr. Seaborg

• Conclusion

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Nobelium (Element 102)
  • The Nobel Institute Experiment of 1957
  • The Berkeley Work
  • The Dubna Work
  • The New Berkeley Work

• Lawrencium (Element 103)

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
  • Rutherfordium (Element 104)
  • Hahnium (Element 105)

• Review of 104 and 105 Discovery Claims
  • Fission Isomers
  • Element 104
    • Chemical Experiments
    • Confirmation of the Berkeley Discovery
    • Attempts to Reconcile Measurements of the SF Half-Life of ²⁶⁰104
  • Element 105
    • Chemical Experiments

• Recent Chemical Studies of Rutherfordium and Hahnium

• References

The following sections are included:

• Discovery

• The “Untold Story” of Seaborgium

• Independent Confirmation and Naming of Element 106

• First Studies of Chemical Properties of Seaborgium

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction: The UNILAC

• Cold Fusion

• SHIP

• Bohrium (Element 107)

• Hassium (Element 108)

• Meitnerium (Element 109)

• References

The following sections are included:

• Element 110
  • Berkeley's SASSY2
  • GSI's Improved SHIP and the UNILAC
  • Dubna's Gas-Filled Separator

• Element 111

• Element 112

• References

The following sections are included:

• Establishment of the Transfermium Working Group

• TWG Visit to Berkeley

• Assignment of Priority of Discovery for Elements 101 Through 109

• Naming by the IUPAC and Protest
  • IUPAC 1997 Approved the Names for Elements 101 Through 109

• Names for Elements 110, 111, and 112

• References

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Early Searches for SHE in Nature

• Early Searches for SHE at Accelerators

• Summary of Results up to 1978

• Searches for SHE Since 1978

• Some Notable “Nondiscoveries” of SHE
  • Giant Halos and the Evidence for the “Discovery” of Elements 116, 124, 126, and 127
  • Superheavy Elements — the Berkeley Near Miss of 1976

• Future Searches for SHE

• Epilogue

• References

There are almost unlimited possibilities for future research on transuranium elements, which already have extended by more than 20% the total of known chemical elements. The time-line in Fig. 1.5 shows the year when each of these was discovered. Truly, we have been in a golden age for the discovery of new chemical elements! When thinking in terms of the distant future, the tendency is to underestimate the potential for future contributions.

The following sections are included:

• Name Index