ABSTRACT
Valuable preparation By summer 1994 we were ready to take our first step towards element 110 and the excitation function of element 104. For our 12-day run the reaction used was 50Ti 208Pb → 258104*, increasing and decreasing the energy as required. The result was a yield curve as a function of the beam energy. We measured one curve with a well defined maximum for the evaporation of one neutron (this results in the isotope 257104), a second curve at higher energy for the evaporation of two neutrons and, at a yet higher beam energy, a third for the evaporation of three neutrons (Figure 12.1). The last, however,
showed a strongly decreased yield as a result of increasing fission of the compound nucleus. It was a good start.
