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 he—did 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.