Superheavy is an interesting and engaging review of how the periodic table was populated with the synthetic elements. Chapman writes in a conversational prose that is easy to follow and captures the personality of the scientists involved. He clearly explains the processed involved in creating new elements, and gives credit to both the chemists and physicists involved. All too often, the realm of nuclear reactors is thought to be the exclusive province of theoretical physicists, but Chapman shows how different skills were necessary to create and characterize the heavy elements. The book captures the successes, failures, lucky guesses and mistakes (because science involves all of these) and provides a book that should stand next to the perennial classic, Richard Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb.
This is a must read for all scholars of scientific history as well as students eager to understand more about the nature of the periodic table.
I received a digital ARC via NetGalley.