The problem of placing isotopes in the periodic table had arisen beginning in 1900 when four radioactive elements were known: radium, actinium, thorium, and uranium. These radioactive elements (termed "radioelements") were accordingly placed at the bottom of the periodic table, as they were known to have greater atomic weights than stable elements, although their exact order was not known. Researchers believed there were still more radioactive elements yet to be discovered, and during the next decade, the decay chains of thorium and uranium were extensively studied. Many new radioactive substances were found, including the noble gas radon, and their chemical properties were investigated. By 1912, almost 50 different radioactive substances had been found in the decay chains of thorium and uranium. American chemist Bertram Boltwood proposed several decay chains linking these radioelements between uranium and lead. These were thought at the time to be new chemical elements, substantially increasing the number of known "elements" and leading to speculations that their discoveries would undermine the concept of the periodic table which had long been established to obey the octet rule. For example, there was not enough room between lead and uranium to accommodate these discoveries, even assuming that some discoveries were duplicates or incorrect identifications. It was also believed that radioactive decay violated one of the central principles of the periodic table, namely that chemical elements could not undergo transmutations and always had unique identities.