More than thirty years ago, Kari Eskola and his colleagues suggested the existence of a relatively stable, excited-state isomer of the heavy element nobelium. Decades later, Eskola was part of a research team that carefully characterized the isomer in an effort to determine the existence of elements heavier than those listed in the current periodic table.

The original proposal was made by Eskola and others working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California on the basis of signs of radioactive decay — forensic clues that the isomer existed. But they couldn't be sure.

Now, groups from the University of Liverpool, UK, and the University of Jyväskylä in Finland — armed with much better detectors — have led research examining the isomer directly. “The biggest challenge was upgrading all aspects of the experimental apparatus,” says lead author Rolf-Dietmar Herzberg, a physicist at the University of Liverpool.

Their work bolsters the argument for the 'island of stability', a theoretical group of potentially stable elements that are much heavier than any currently noted on the periodic table (see page 896).

Although his role in the new work was minor, Eskola, now at the University of Helsinki, says he was glad to provide a “connecting link” with the original research.