technetium

[tek-nee-shee-uhm, -shuhm]

noun

1. Chemistry.,  an element of the manganese family, not found in nature, but obtained in the fission of uranium or by the bombardment of molybdenum. Tc; 99; 43; 11.5.

technetium

/ tɛkˈniːʃɪəm /

noun

1. a silvery-grey metallic element, artificially produced by bombardment of molybdenum by deuterons: used to inhibit corrosion in steel. The radioisotope technetium-99m , with a half-life of six hours, is used in radiotherapy. Symbol: Tc; atomic no: 43; half-life of most stable isotope, ⁹⁷ Tc: 2.6 × 10 ⁶ years; valency: 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, or 7; relative density: 11.50 (calculated); melting pt: 2204°C; boiling pt: 4265°C

technetium

1. A silvery-gray, radioactive metallic element. It was the first element to be artificially made, and it is produced naturally in extremely small amounts during the radioactive decay of uranium. Technetium is used to remove corrosion from steel. Its longest-lived isotope is Tc 98 with a half-life of 4,200,000 years. Atomic number 43; melting point 2,200°C; specific gravity 11.50; valence 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7.

2. See Periodic Table

Word History and Origins

Origin of technetium¹

1945–50; < Greek technēt ( ós ) artificial (literally, made, verbid of technâsthai; techno- ) + -ium

Word History and Origins

Origin of technetium¹

C20: New Latin, from Greek tekhnētos manmade, from tekhnasthai to devise artificially, from tekhnē skill

Example Sentences

Like all elements first born in cyclotrons, technetium was radioactive.

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That means it’s likely that the operator had been recently exposed to the technetium when a different patient was cremated.

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A News & Views In Retrospect describes how the 1937 discovery of technetium, the first element to be artificially produced, paved the way for research into the heaviest of elements.

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But arguably the greatest discovery remains technetium, and the metastable isotope of the element that Segrè discovered with Seaborg.

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In 1937, element 43 became the first to be artificially produced, named technetium.

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