How does recoil collection separate a newly made transuranium nuclide from its target?

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In the synthesis of transuranium elements, the recoil collection method is used to separate a newly created nuclide from its target. When a heavy-ion projectile strikes a very thin target, the resulting product nucleus gains enough momentum to recoil out of the target material.1

Once the product nucleus has recoiled out of the target, it is captured using one of two primary techniques:
* It is attracted to a substrate by an electrostatic potential.1
* It is swept onto a substrate by a jet of helium gas.1

This process allows the new element to be isolated from the parent isotope and positioned for observation and characterization by detection equipment.1