Georgy Flerov — the physicist who wrote a letter to Stalin and convinced him to build the nuclear bomb. He also discovered spontaneous fission of uranium. Element 114 was named in his honor. Flerovium sits below lead in the periodic table, but may behave like an inert gas — relativistic effects 'close' its outer electron shell. Experiments confirmed it: flerovium is indeed more volatile and inert than lead. It sits at the doorstep of the island of stability.
Flerovium was synthesized in Dubna in 1998-1999 by bombarding plutonium-244 with calcium-48 ions. This method became the 'gold standard' for creating the heaviest elements — calcium-48 has an ideal proton-neutron ratio for synthesis.
Georgy Flyorov was a legend of nuclear physics. He discovered spontaneous fission of uranium and wrote a famous 'secret' letter to Stalin about the need for a nuclear program. The laboratory bearing his name in Dubna has discovered six superheavy elements.
Flerovium is extremely radioactive and exists only seconds. It's synthesized a few atoms at a time in accelerators. It poses no practical threat.
Flerovium sits below lead in the table but may be an inert gas instead of a metal. Relativistic effects completely change its chemical behavior.
In 1942, Georgy Flerov wrote a personal letter to Stalin, convincing him to start the USSR's atomic project. He also discovered spontaneous fission of uranium.
Flerovium is on the edge of the island of stability — a hypothetical region where superheavy nuclei could live years instead of milliseconds.
In 1942, Georgy Flyorov wrote a letter to Stalin warning that Americans were developing an atomic bomb and the USSR must urgently start its own program. That letter changed the course of history.
Relativistic effects may make flerovium resemble a noble gas — it could be extremely volatile and chemically inert. Some theorists call it a 'pseudo-noble element.'
| Isotope | Mass (u) | Abundance | Half-life | Decay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
287Fl☢ | 287.186780 | synthetic | 0.48 seconds | α |
289Fl☢ | 289.190420 | synthetic | 2.6 seconds | α |
Cyclotron bombardment of plutonium