rogers@ARSUN.UTAH.EDU (Alan R. Rogers) (03/20/90)
I got this from the newsletter of the U of U biology department:
HEAVIEST ELEMENT DISCOVERED
The heaviest element known to science was discovered a few years ago
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the news should be
officially released sometime in 1992. The element, tentatively named
Administratium, (Ad), has no protons or electrons, thus it has atomic
number 0. It does, however, have 1 neutron, 75 associate neutrons,
125 deputy associate neutrons, and 111 assistant deputy associate
neutrons. This gives it an atomic mass of 312. The 312 particles are
held together in the nucleus by a force that involves the continuous
exchange of meson-like particles called memons.
Since it has no electrons, Administratium is inert. Nevertheless, it
can be detected chemically, because it seems to impede every reaction
in which it takes part. According to Dr M. Langour, one of the
discoverers of the element, a very small amount of Administratium made
one reaction that normally takes less than a second, take four days to
go to completion.
Administratium has a half-life of approximately 3 years, after which
time it does not actually decay. Instead, it undergoes an internal
reorganization in which associates to the neutron, deputy associates
to the neutron, and assistant depluty associates to the neutron all
exchange places. Some studies have indicated that the atomic mass
actually increases after each reorganization.