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#43 Tc - Technetium

Discovered in: 1937

Discovered by: Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segre of Italy

Description: Named for the Greek word technikos, which means artificial, technetium is a silvery-gray radioactive metal. Technetium has a short half-life, so any natural technetium the Earth possessed has long since disappeared. It is found in cool, red stars, however. Artificially produced technetium is a somewhat reactive metal, slowly reacting with air and acid. Technetium has few industrial or commercial uses. It is a superconductor at very low temperatures and is used in medical radiation imaging as a tracer. Technetium was the first artificially produced element and was created by bombarding molybdenum with a stream of neutrons. The most stable isotope of technetium has a half-life of 420,000 years

Biological Rating: No known benefits for life processes.

Biological Benefits: Technetium has no biological use.

Percentage Amount in the Human Body: 0 %

Obtained from: Technetium does not exist in the Earth's crust, nor found in any mineral. Currently, it is only produced by artificial nuclear fission reactions.

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