Superheavy elements articles within Nature

Featured

  • Letter |

    Resonance ionization spectroscopy of nobelium (atomic number 102) reveals its ground-state transition and an upper limit for its ionization potential, paving the way to characterizing even heavier elements via optical spectroscopy.

    • Mustapha Laatiaoui
    • , Werner Lauth
    •  & Alexander Yakushev

  • Letter |

    Lawrencium, with atomic number 103, has an isotope with a half-life of 27 seconds; even so, its first ionization potential has now been measured on an atom-at-a-time scale and agrees well with state-of-the-art theoretical calculations that include relativistic effects.

    • T. K. Sato
    • , M. Asai
    •  & N. Trautmann

  • News & Views |

    By swapping the roles of the target and beam in an experiment that is otherwise impossible to implement, researchers have confirmed the doubly magic nature of the neutron-rich radioactive tin isotope 132Sn.

    • Paul Cottle

  • Letter |

    The difference between the mass of an atom and the sum of its building blocks (the binding energy) is a manifestation of Einstein's famous relation E = mc2. Superheavy elements have been observed, but our present knowledge of the binding energy of these nuclides is based only on the detection of their decay products, although they represent the gateway to the predicted 'island of stability'. Here, direct mass measurements of trans-uranium nuclides are reported, providing reliable anchor points en route to the island of stability.

    • M. Block
    • , D. Ackermann
    •  & C. Weber

  • News |

    Precise mass measurement aids the hunt for heavy elements that decay slowly.

    • Geoff Brumfiel

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