The Transactinides
Understanding the Elements of the Periodic Table
Readers will enter the strange and mysterious world of the transactinides, which have atomic numbers of 104 and higher. They are the largest and heaviest of all the elements. Because of this, they are sometimes called the super-heavy elements. Unlike most of the other elements, the transactinides do not exist in nature but are, with great difficulty, created in the lab. Even more odd, they only exist for a few seconds at most before falling apart. In essence, these are elements that are in the process of being discovered and explored, a scientific mystery that is being solved as we speak, before our eyes. Students will peer over the shoulders of researchers as they try to create and probe these super-heavy elements.
