The Lawrence Radiation Laboratory was operated by the Atomic Energy Commission, and was the lab in which Seaborg and his colleagues did many of their early works. These early jobs and experiments were the begging of life long dedication to the discovery of various elements and isotopes .
One of Seaborg's earliest works "The Trans-Uranium Elements" discusses how he and Emilio Segre created and identified the elements with the atomic numbers 93-96( Seaborg & Segre, 1947). The problem with elements with an atomic number greater than ninety-two is that the high ratio of protons to neutrons causes the element to become unstable and decay into smaller more stable elements. To create an element with an atomic number greater than ninety-two, the chemists bombarded the nucleus of one element with neutrons or fast-moving charged particles. Consequently these techniques did not always work as the atomic numbers increased and elements with an atomic number of ninety-five or higher were created using the Cyclotron, a particle accelerator. The scientists realized that the reason these newly discovered elements had been so elusive to previous studies ( first seen after observing an isotope of Neptunian) was because the chemistry of the element had more to do with uranium that of rhenium which they previously thought. This characteristic led the scientist to believe that a new series of elements with closely related properties to uranium had been found similar to the previous group of rare earth metals. .
Seaborg and Serge's work revolutionary at the time, opened the way for a wave of new research to be done, later proving to be very beneficial to society as whole. The work conducted by Seabord has found its way into many different industries including the medical field and the defense industry. With the discovery of the isotope of Plutonium, Pu-238, the race began to build a nuclear weapon for the United States.