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  • I'm really excited.

  • I'm here in Dubna in Russia, at the Joint Institute of Nuclear Research,

  • and I'm in the office of Yuri Oganessian, after whom element 118 was named.

  • It's the first time I've ever been in the office with somebody that has an element named after him.

  • And as a bonus, next door on the other side of the corridor

  • is the office of Flyorov, after whom element 114 was named,

  • so two great heroes in one place.

  • Sadly he died many years ago, but his office has been preserved exactly as it was on the day he died,

  • so we can see lots of the things that belong to him and his books and so on.

  • So Yuri, perhaps you can take us to the office.

  • So this is a letter written by Flyorov to Stalin.

  • It begins "Dear Joseph Vissarionovich," which is Stalin's first name,

  • and then he explains the possibilities of using Uranium for a bomb.

  • He says that it is almost science fiction, but if it works, the payoff would be enormous.

  • This is his lab coat.

  • Was he a big man?

  • Yeah, just like me.

  • You're saying he was proposing an underground nuclear explosion

  • OGANESSIAN: Exactly. POLIAKOFF: —and to collect the material, and from this to

  • make 5 micrograms of curium. OGANESSIAN: Exactly.

  • POLIAKOFF: So was the Hundred Tons the power of the explosion?

  • OGANESSIAN: Right.

  • HARAN: To you, was he was he like a friend or was he like your boss?

  • What was your relationship to him?

  • HARAN: Professor, what's it like for you to come in here today? Like when you come in here,

  • now that he has died, does it make you feel any emotion?

  • Does it bring back memories? Is it just a museum to you?

  • What does this room make you feel?

  • Um...

  • I don't know how to say in English, but...

  • [Speaking Russian]

  • So, he dreams...

  • When he sleeps he dreams that he's talking to Flyorov.

  • HARAN: What does he say to you?

  • That's very good. Did he live close to you? —Yeah, yeah.

  • HARAN: How did you feel when they made the decision to name an element after Flyrov, Flerovium?

  • Did this make you feel happy?

  • HARAN: Professor, tomorrow we see the inauguration of these new elements. Do you wish he was there tomorrow?

  • Do you wish he was there tomorrow? Do you wish he could be with us tomorrow to see this?

  • [Speaking Russian]

  • POLIAKOFF: It would be his dream. OGANESSIAN: If it was a dream.

  • [Speaking Russian]

  • It was his dream for the inauguration of Flerovium,

  • and it would also be a dream if he was there tomorrow.

  • HARAN: This was always on his wall, was it?

  • OGANESSIAN: Yep.

  • HARAN: Did he catch this or did it was a given as a gift?

  • Or did hedid he catch this?

  • POLIAKOFF: What is this?

  • HARAN: He would time the discussion?

  • HARAN: Was he impatient? It sounds like he was impatient. "Hurry up!"

  • POLIAKOFF, OGANESSIAN: [Speaking Russian]

  • POLIAKOFF: So he wasn't very patient. Apparently he wasn't very patient.

  • So everything had to be done quickly.

I'm really excited.

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