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Article: A chemical glance at short-lived elements.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- September 8, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A chemical glance at short-lived elements
The chemical elements lawrencium, rutherfordium and hahnium hardly contribute to the stuff of everyday life. Synthesized one atom at a time by bombarding heavy nuclei with ions, these highly radioactive elements generally survive just a few seconds before decaying into other atomic isotopes.
Darleane C. Hoffman of the Lawrence Berkeley (Calif.) Laboratory and her co-workers, including collaborators in West Germany and Switzerland, have taken up the challenge of determining the chemical properties of these short-lived elements. Such studies enable researchers to see where the elements fit into the periodic table ...