Nobelium‐254 Forms High‐Spin Rotational States

Why should elements beyond, say, atomic number $Z = 100$ exist at all? One might think that the Coulomb repulsion of so many protons ought to make such nuclei fission. But elements with a Z as high as 112 have been created, and they prefer to decay by alpha emission instead of fission. So it's widely believed that the relative stability of these high‐Z nuclei is a striking example of nuclear shell structure, which lowers the energy of the ground state, thereby creating a fission barrier. Without the shell‐correction energy, the heaviest nuclei wouldn't be stable.