What is an interesting fact about technetium?

Technetium is the only element that is artificially produced. This property gives technetium its name, from the Greek for “artificial.” Technetium is a radioactive metal that looks a lot like platinum. Technetium has the second largest magnetic penetration depth after niobium.

How is technetium used in everyday life?

Technetium (Tc-99m) is an isotope commonly used in a number of medical diagnostic imaging scans. Tc99m is used as a radioactive tracer for nuclear medicine; which is a form of medical imaging that assesses how particular parts of our body are working or functioning.

How was technetium developed?

Technetium was the first artificially produced element. It was isolated by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè in 1937. Technetium was created by bombarding molybdenum atoms with deuterons that had been accelerated by a device called a cyclotron. Today, technetium is produced by bombarding molybdenum-98 with neutrons.

Why is technetium special?

Technetium is the lightest radioactive element. Technetium is a radioactive element, with no stable isotopes. With an atomic number of 43, it is the lightest unstable element. The short answer is that there is no number of neutrons you can put in a technetium atom to form a stable nucleus.

What are the benefits of technetium-99m?

The principal benefit of this radioactive substance is its long half life. 6 hours is long enough for various medical examinations to be done. Also, it is short enough for the99mTc to be eliminated from the system without causing any harm. The radiation dose to the patient remains low because 99mTc emits gamma-ray.

Is technetium found naturally?

Technetium occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust in minute concentrations of about 0.003 parts per trillion. Technetium is so rare because the half-lives of 97Tc and 98Tc are only 4.2 million years.

What part of the body is technetium most useful for scanning?

parathyroid tissue
Technetium seems to be the most useful in practical application, and it is concentrated by parathyroid tissue (Fig. 27.1), effectively identifying adenomas in up to 90% of cases.

What are the common uses for technetium?

Uses of Technetium. The main use of technetium is in the medical industry. It is used as a radioactive isotope in medical tests particularly as a medical tracer than can be detected in the human body via a gamma camera.

What are two characteristics of technetium?

Two characteristics of Technetium: 1) Technetium is a rare, silver-gray metal that tarnishes slowly in moist air. 2)In powder form, it burns in oxygen to form the heptoxide (Tc2O7) Two characteristics of Tungsten : 1)Tungsten is a very hard, dense, silvery-white.

What is technetium named after?

Technetium was the first element to be produced synthetically. It is named after the Greek word ‘technètos’ meaning artificial. Technetium was once thought to exist only in samples produced in the laboratory. However, its spectral lines have now been observed in red giant stars, such as Betelgeuse , shown below.

How many protons neutrons and electrons are in technetium -?

Technetium is the 43rd element on the Periodic Table. It has 43 protons and 55 neutrons. It also has 43 electrons on 5 energy levels.