Spontaneous fission in the heavy elements

Investigations of mass and kinetic-energy distributions from spontaneous fission have been extended in recent years to an isotope of element 104 and, for half-lives, to an isotope of element 108. The results have been surprising in that spontaneous fission half-lives have turned out to be much longer than expected and mass and kinetic-energy distributions were found to abruptly shift away from those of the lighter actinides, showing two modes of fission. These new developments have caused a re-evaluation of our understanding of the fission process, bringing an even deeper appreciation of the role played by nuclear shell effects upon spontaneous fission properties.