Technetium (/tɛkˈniːʃiəm/) is a chemical element with symbol Tc and atomic number 43. It is the element with the lowest atomic number in the periodic table that has no stable isotopes:every form of it is radioactive. Nearly all technetium is produced synthetically, and only minute amounts are found in nature.
Three reasons Technetium stands out
- 1
Radioactive and used in medical imaging.
- 2
It was the first element to be artificially created rather than discovered in nature, synthesised in 1937.
- 3
It has no stable isotopes at all — every single form of it is radioactive.
The first element made by human hands
Technetium was the first element produced artificially, filling a conspicuous gap in the periodic table. Every isotope is radioactive, explaining its near absence from old terrestrial rocks. The short-lived metastable isotope technetium-99m became a workhorse of medical imaging because its gamma rays can be detected outside the body.