107 Stories About Chemistry
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The essence of these ideas is that there must be what one might call "stability islands" in the domain of highly charged nuclei. This does not mean that the elements on them are not subject to radioactive decay, but just that they live longer than their neighbours, long enough not only to be synthesized, but to enable investigation of their chief properties. One of these "islands" is the element with the atomic number 126. So far all this is theory, and it is up to practice to prepare the hundred and twenty sixth. The conventional methods of nuclear chemistry are obviously powerless. Neither neutrons, deuterons, alpha-particles, nor even the ions of the light elements - argon, neon, and oxygen - are of any use for this purpose, because there is no suitable target element. All the available elements are too far removed from the atomic number 126. And so extraordinary methods must be invented. An original method now under discussion is that of bombarding uranium with uranium, of accelerating uranium ions with a special accelerator and hurling them at a uranium target. What would be the result? The two uranium nuclei would merge into one monstrously complex nucleus. Uranium carries a charge of 92. Therefore the gigantic nucleus would have a charge of 184. It would not only be unable to exist, but would even have no right to. And so it would instantly break into two fragments with different masses and different charges. And it is quite probable that one of these would be a nucleus with a charge of 126. . . Such is the idea. It would be a mistake not to believe that it will be realized sooner or later. For such is life. . .
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