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  Acknowledgements

  This book has been the hardest task I’ve ever attempted. Throughout, my only goal has been to record this amazing story truthfully, fairly and accurately – albeit while having as much fun as possible. The adventures I’ve experienced in my research are some of the most potent memories of my life. It has been a two-year delirium, complete with dramatic highs and painful lows. It is thanks to the following people that Superheavy is with you today.

  First, my fact checkers. Mark and Nancy Stoyer both read the book from cover to cover in an early draft, offering helpful suggestions and kind words of encouragement. So too did Sheila Chapman (love you, Mum!); Jennifer Newton, who gave proceedings some added pep; Nessa ‘Super Science Girl’ Carson, who had no reason to read anything but did so anyway; Hilary Sklar, who wisely told me not to dash off in strange directions; and Allison Holloway, who is my hero. Almost everyone quoted also read several chapters and offered gentle corrections to very stupid errors – any mistakes that remain are mine alone. Special mentions must go to Hideto En’yo, Julie Ezold, Jacklyn Gates, Sigurd Hofmann, Paul Karol, Matti Leino, Gottfried Münzenberg, Matti Nurmia, Yuri Oganessian and James Roberto for their kindness, patience and wisdom, and to Becky Miller, who agreed to fact-check the story of her father Jimmy Robinson. Thanks are also due to the team at Bloomsbury Sigma for letting me tackle such an ambitious story, and the advice and support they have offered along the way.

  Support comes in many shapes and sizes. Friends and family have had to put up with me talking about one subject at every possible moment; they have done so with good grace and humour. The Chemistry World team at the Royal Society of Chemistry have been outstanding: Adam Brownsell, Phillip Broadwith, Jamie Durrani, Katrina Kramer, Scott Ollington, Christopher Pink, Philip Robinson, Emma Stoye, Rebecca Trager, Ben Valsler, Patrick Walter and Neil ‘rackets, not squash’ Withers. I have no idea how they put up with me. Mention must also go to Alex and Jen Corbett, Marco Galea, Alex Parnell and Adam Roberts, who also got regular doses of science history whether they wanted them or not.

  All-access books don’t get very far without access. For that, I must thank the teams at the Australian National University (ANU), the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research (GSI), the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) and Stockholm University, as well as the scientists from other institutions – active or retired – who gave up their time to be interviewed in person, on the phone or both. The press offices at Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory also offered information crucial to the book.

  Friendships forged on travels will, I hope, last a lifetime. I’ll never forget the long road to Dubna with Alexander Madumarov, raiding Gilman Hall with Lars Öhrström, almost getting kidnapped with Allana Sliwinski or sticker hunts with Shanon Smith. Stuart Cantrill helped with arrangements for my Scandinavian adventure (and gave things a final check), Alice Williamson gave me a chance to test my anecdotes in public, Kristy Turner and Sheila Kanani gave specialist input and James Holloway provided expertise on DC Comics and weird fiction.

  Last, thanks to Gamera. You’re a dopey tortoise who almost destroyed the first draft of this manuscript, but you’re my little buddy.

  Index

  Abelson, Phil here, here, here, here, here

  actinides here, here, here, here, here

  actinium here

  Aksenov, Nikolay here, here

  Alonso, Carol here, here

  Alonso, Jose here

  aluminium here, here, here, here

  Alvarez, Luis here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Amaldi, Edoardo here, here

  American Chemical Society here, here

  americium here, here, here, here

  argon here, here

  Armbruster, Peter here, here, here, here, here, here

  astatine here, here, here

  athenium here

  atomic bomb here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  atomic tests here, here

  Operation Ivy here, here, here, here, here

  Trinity here, here, here, here, here

  atoms here

  Bohr model of a carbon atom here

  ausonium here, here

  Australian National University (ANU) here, here

  Bailey, Porter here

  Bainbridge, Kenneth here, here, here

  barium here

  Becquerel, Henri here

  Beria, Lavrentiy here

  berkelium here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  beryllium here, here, here, here

  bevatron here, here, here

  bismuth here, here, here, here, here

  Block, Michael here

  Bohr, Aage here

  Bohr, Niels here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  bohrium here, here, here, here, here

  Boll, Rose here

  boron here

  Brezhnev, Leonid here

  Browne, Malcolm here

  calcium-48 here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  californium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Calvin, Melvin here, here

  cassiopeium here

  centurium here

  cerium here, here, here

&nbs
p; Chadwick, James here, here, here, here, here

  Chemical & Engineering News here

  Chemistry International here

  Chemistry World here

  Chernobyl disaster here, here, here

  Cherwell, Lord here

  Cheverton, Dick here

  chlorine here, here, here

  Choppin, Gregory here, here, here

  chromium here, here, here

  cobalt here

  cold fusion here, here, here, here, here, here

  Compton, Arthur here, here

  Conant, James here

  copernicium here, here

  Copernicus here

  Coulomb barrier here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Coulomb repulsion here

  Cunningham, Burris here

  Curie, Marie here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Curie, Pierre here, here, here, here, here

  curium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  cyclotrons here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Daghlian, Harry here

  darmstadtium here

  Dasgupta, Nanda here, here

  Davy, Humphry here, here

  Despotopoulos, John here

  Dmitriev, Sergey here, here

  Doudna, Jennifer here

  dubnium here, here, here, here

  Economist, The here

  Eichler, Robert here, here, here

  Einstein, Albert here, here, here, here

  einsteinium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Eisenhower, Dwight here, here, here

  electron shells here

  oganesson here

  elements here

  En’yo, Hideto here, here, here

  Eskola, Pirkko and Kari here, here, here

  European Physical Journal H here

  europium here, here, here

  Ezold, Julie here, here, here

  Fackler, Paul here, here

  FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) here, here

  Faraday, Michael here

  Fermi gases here

  Fermi, Enrico here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Fermi, Laura here, here, here, here

  fermium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Feynman, Richard here

  Flerov, Georgy Nikolayevich here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  flerovium here, here, here

  francium here

  Frisch, Otto here

  Fukushima, Japan here

  Gadolin, Johan here

  Gagarin, Yuri here

  Gäggeler, Heinz here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Gates, Jacklyn here, here, here, here, here, here

  Geiger counters here, here, here, here, here

  Ghiorso, Al here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Ghiorso, Bill here

  Ghiorso, Wilma here, here, here, here

  Goeppert Mayer, Maria here, here, here, here

  gold here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Gorbachev, Mikhail here

  Gregorich, Ken here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Groves, Leslie here, here

  GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Germany here

  Guthals, Paul here

  Haba, Hiromitsu here

  Hades here

  Hagan, Bob here

  Hahn, Otto here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  hahnium here, here, here, here, here

  halogens here

  Hargis, Sue here

  Harris, James here, here, here, here

  Harvey, Bernard here, here

  hassium here, here, here, here

  Hawking, Stephen here

  helium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Henning, Walter here

  Herrmann, Günter here, here

  hesperium here, here

  High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), US here, here, here, here, here

  HILAC (heavy ion linear accelerator) here, here, here, here, here

  Hinde, David here, here

  Hitler, Adolf here

  Hoffman, Darleane here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Hoffman, Marvin here

  Hofmann, Sigurd here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Holden, Norman here

  hot fusion here, here, here, here

  Hulet, Ken here, here, here, here, here

  hydrogen here, here, here, here, here

  hydrogen bomb here, here, here, here

  International Bureau of Weights and Measures here

  iodine here, here, here

  iron here

  Iron Man here here

  island of stability here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  IUPAC here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  IUPAP here, here, here, here, here

  James, Ralph here

  Jensen, Hans here, here, here

  Johnson, Lyndon here

  Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Russia here, here, here

  Joliot-Curie, Frédéric here, here, here, here

  Joliot-Curie, Irène here

  joliotium here, here, here, here

  Kaftanov, Sergei here

  Källberg, Anders here, here

  Karol, Paul here, here, here

  Kennedy, John F. here, here

  Kennedy, Joseph here

  Khruschev, Nikita here, here

  kilograms here

  krypton here, here, here, here, here

  Kurchatov, Igor here, here, here, here, here, here

  kurchatovium here, here, here, here

  lanthanides here, here, here, here

  lanthanum here, here

  Large Hadron Collider (CERN) here

  Lavoisier, Antoine here, here, here, here

  Lavoisier, Marie-Anne Paulze here, here

  Lawrence, Ernest here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  cyclotron here, here

  Lawrence, Francine here

  lawrencium here, here, here, here, here

  Lazar, Bob here

  Le Grand K here

  lead here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Leino, Matti here, here, here, here, here, here

  Lemmy here

  Lincoln, Kenneth here

  lithium here, here

  livermorium here, here

  Lougheed, Ron here, here, here

  Loveland, Walter here, here, here, here, here

  lutetium here

  Mainstone, John here

  Maly, Ya. here

  Manhattan Project here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Marchand, John here, here

  Marinov, Amnon here

  Mayo, Simon here

  McCarthy, Joseph here, here

  McMillan, Edwin here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Meitner, Lise here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  meitnerium here, here, here, here

  Mendeleev, Dmitri here, here, here, here, here

  mendelevium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  mercury here, here

  Meroney, Virgil here

  Miller, Becky here

  Modern Nuclear Chemistry here

  Moody, Ken here, here, here, here

  Morgan, Leon (Tom) here, here

  Morita, Kōsuke here, here

  Morrissey, David here

  Moseley, Henry here, here

  Münzenberg, Gottfried her
e, here, here, here, here, here

  Mussolini, Benito here, here

  Nature here, here

  Nazarewicz, Witold here, here, here

  neodymium here

  neon here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  neptunium here, here, here, here, here

  neutrons here

  neutron capture here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  New York Times here, here, here, here

  Newton, Isaac here

  nielsbohrium here, here, here

  nihonium here, here

  Ninov, Victor here, here, here, here, here, here

  niobium here

  Nishina, Yoshio here, here

  Nitschke, Mike here, here

  Nixon, Richard here, here

  Nobel Prize here, here

  Nobel, Alfred here

  nobelium here, here, here, here, here, here

  noble gases here, here, here

  Noddack, Ida here, here

  nuclear fission here, here, here, here, here, here

  nuclear reactors here, here

  High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), US here, here, here, here, here

  Research Institute of Atomic Reactors, Russia here

  nuclear weapons here

  atomic bomb here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Fat Man here

  hydrogen bomb here, here, here, here

  First Lightning RDS-1 here

  Gadget here, here, here, here, here

  nucleus here

  nuclear shell model here

  Nurmia, Matti here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Oganessian, Irina here

  Oganessian, Yuri here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  oganesson here, here, here

  Ogawa, Masataka here, here, here

  Onishi, Yukari here

  Oppenheimer, Robert here, here, here

  Oswald, Lee Harvey here

  Parnell, Thomas here

  particle accelerators here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Patterson, Robert here

  Pauling, Linus here

  Perey, Marguerite here

  periodic table here, here, here, here, here, here, here

  Peterson, Don here

  Phelps, Clarice here

  phosphorus here, here

  Physical Review here, here, here, here, here

  pitch drop here

  Planck constant here

  plutonium here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here