Chemistry beyond the actinides

Abstract

Humans have been fascinated ever since ancient times with trying to understand the composition of the terrestrial world around them and even the stars beyond their reach. In the 4th century B.C., Aristotle proposed that all matter could be described in terms of varying proportions of four elements-air, earth, fire, and water. Elements, including gold, silver, and tin, that are found relatively pure in nature were isolated and used over the period of the next several hundred years. The alchemists of medieval times isolated and discovered additional elements and used secret formulas and rituals in the attempt to find the philosopher's stone and attain their goal of transmuting lead into gold. The development of experimental science and the scientific method in the 18th century accelerated the pace of the discovery of new elements, but uranium, discovered in 1789 by Klaproth in pitchblende from Saxony, Germany, remained the heaviest known chemical element for 150 years. © 2007 Springer.