Dubna and other labs have since made elements 115, 116, 117, and 118 and isotopes with different numbers of neutrons. They’re still nowhere near the island’s peak, where an element might last ...

It was the scientific equivalent of hara kiri. But did element 116 really not exist? In 2000, the rival group in Russia reported having made a single atom of element 116 and within 3 years had ...