How did Seaborg discover transuranium elements?
Let us consider the data. My method involved neutron bombardment of uranium and other heavy elements in cyclotrons at the University of California, Berkeley. For example, in 1940, we bombarded uranium with deuterons to create neptunium-238, which decayed to plutonium-238. The key was chemical separation: we used oxidation-reduction reactions to isolate new elements from fission products. This is a fact—we identified plutonium by its unique alpha decay and chemical properties. I developed the actinide concept to predict where these elements fit in the periodic table. Each discovery required meticulous ion-exchange chromatography and radiochemical analysis. My team’s systematic approach, detailed in *The Transuranium Elements* (1949), allowed us to map the unknown territory of heavy elements. Nuclear chemistry is the frontier of discovery, and every element has a story waiting to be uncovered.
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