TechnetiumTayler Carter

History of Technetium

Technetium was mistakenly reported as having been discovered in 1925. At this time, it was named masurium.

The element was actually discovered in 1937 by C. Perrier and Emilio Gino Segre in Italy.

The origin of the name Technetium comes from the Greek technetos, artificial.

Properties

Technetium is a solid at room temperature.

The color of technetium is silver/gray. Melting point: 2200°C Boiling Point: 4877°C Density: 11.5 g.cm-3 at 20°C Technetium is one of only two

elements that has no stable isotopes; all of them are radioactive. Some isotopes are produced as uranium fission products.

How Do We Get It?

Technetium was the first artificially produced element. It was created by bombarding molybdenum atoms with neutrons.

Today, this is still how we produce technetium. When molybdenum captures a neutron, it decays into technetium.

The cost of technetium is around $60 per gram.

Uses

Technetium-99 is used in many medical radioactive isotope tests. Technetium-99 has also been proposed for use in optolectric nuclear batteries.

One of Techntium's more useful uses is as a radioactive tracer that can be distributed throughout the body.

Resources

http://www.chemistry.pomona.edu/chemistry/periodic_table/Elements/Technetium/uses.html

http://www.webelements.com/technetium/history.html

http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/tc.htm#Atomic%20number

http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/a/technetium.htm

http://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele043.html

http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/technetium.htm