Mercury has been used for so long its discoverers are unknown. It’s been found in Egyptian tombs as old as 1500 BCE and was once believed to have healing properties. Unfortunately, it’s also particularly toxic. […]
Enriching uranium is a detailed and complex chemical process. Uranium is found naturally in the ground in two different forms, one of which is mostly useless. Where does depleted uranium come from? […]
Nuclear fusion is an astronomically powerful source of energy. If harnessed, it could prove unimaginably useful for humanity’s purposes. How does nuclear fusion make energy? […]
John Dalton observed mathematical regularities with respect to the formation of a chemical compound. He concluded that the elements combined in fixed quantities, pointing toward the existence of atoms. […]
Element 117 was extremely hard to produce owing to the almost non-availability of Berkelium needed for the process. When procured, transportation to Russia became a stumbling block. […]
American and Russian teams shared the credit for discovering Flerovium, and elements 116 and 118. Their camaraderie did continue but a new player entered the global competition of expanding the periodic table: Japan. […]
The GSI discovered three superheavy elements: Elements 107, 108 and 109. It was, however, element 109 which was a little extra special, as it was the only one to be named after a female scientist, Lise Meitner, who co-discovered nuclear fission. […]
The credit and the prestige of naming newly discovered elements was taken extremely seriously by scientists at both the Dubna and the Berkeley labs. The naming of element 102 was an example. […]
When Glenn Seaborg and his colleague Albert Ghiorso discovered element 101, the point was not only to be credited with its discovery but also getting to name it. They chose a Russian name, Mendelevium, for it, using this as an opportunity to extend an olive branch to them. […]
When the Berkeley team discovered element 100, the Swedish experiment published and laid the claim of having discovered it just days before them. […]
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